Torey Lovullo Named New Arizona Diamondbacks Manager

On Friday, the Arizona Diamondbacks once again took someone from the Boston Red Sox baseball organization when they hired Torey Lovullo as their new manager.

Lovullo signed a three-year deal and will be introduced formally on Monday by the club during a news conference.

Lovullo was thought to be the first choice for the managerial job when Mike Hazen was hired by the Diamondbacks as their new general manager in October.

The two had worked in Boston together as Lovullo was the bench coach for the Red Sox the last four seasons and prior to that, they worked together for the Cleveland Indians.

People who know Lovullo call him a good communicator who makes sure he is connected to his players. They said he has experience as a player in the major leagues, a manager in the minor leagues and a coach in the big league.

He also was an interim manager during the 2015 season when he took over for Boston manager John Farrell when Farrell stepped aside to treat his lymphoma.

Aaron Hill a former infielder with Arizona said the team was lucky to have Lovullo as the new manager. He knows Lovullo from time he spent with Boston and Toronto.

Lovullo played parts of 8 seasons as an infielder in the big leagues. The 51-year old spend 9 years as a manager in the minor leagues prior to working the last six seasons as a bench coach under Farrell, first in Toronto and then with Boston.

Ross Atkins the general manager for the Toronto Blue Jays said that Lovullo would be able to connect with any player. He has a great deal of empathy and will connect regardless if it is with a veteran or rookie player.

Lovullo, added Atkins, has also been around a winning atmosphere and that is not just luck, it is who he is and who he was surrounded by, making him a big contributor to that winning attitude.

Arizona is thought to have been deciding between Lovullo and Phil Nevin the manager of their Triple-A team. It is expected now that Nevin will not return to the organization.

It is thought that Nevin will accept a job on the staff of Bruce Bochy the manager of the San Francisco Giants.

This is the second time the Diamondback have bypassed Nevin for a manager’s position. He was a finalist two years ago when Arizona signed Chip Hale.