Diamondbacks’ Torey Lovullo continues to ‘agonize’ over Opening Day starter

SCOTTSDALE — As more than half of the 30 Major League Baseball clubs have announced their Opening Day starting pitcher, the Arizona Diamondbacks continue to “agonize” over the decision.

Manager Torey Lovullo said he’s feeling the pressure from MLB to pick his Day 1 ace between newcomer Corbin Burnes and incumbent Zac Gallen.

“I think Major League Baseball is already after me,” Lovullo joked on Saturday. “So I’m doing the, I don’t know, who’s a good offensive lineman? Anthony Munoz? Yeah, good one. Doing the Anthony Munoz right there. I’m doing some pass protection.”

“I respect what they want to do, and I need to get that to them as soon as possible. But like I said, I want to be as thorough as possible.”

The Diamondbacks host the Chicago Cubs on March 27 to begin the campaign. Chicago’s regular season will start on Tuesday in Japan against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga will get the ball first.

Lovullo on Saturday asked everyone in the coaches room to send him a text answering whom should be the Opening Day starter and why.

“I told you I’ve been agonizing over this,” Lovullo said. “It’s gonna be a very difficult decision because we know the two candidates, and they’re both very deserving.”

Torey Lovullo is feeling the pressure from MLB to announce an Opening Day starter already. pic.twitter.com/KUWrv8bJTh

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 15, 2025

Gallen has started the last two Opening Day games for the D-backs, and he could join Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb, Ian Kennedy and Madison Bumgarner on the list of D-backs to do so for three straight years.

Burnes started for the Baltimore Orioles last year and for the Milwaukee Brewers the previous two.

Gallen has been with the D-backs since the 2019 trade deadline and is coming off a season in which he worked a 3.65 ERA in 148 innings. He enters the final year under contract.

Burnes signed a six-year, $210 million contract over the offseason after pitching 194.1 frames to a 2.92 ERA in Baltimore last year.

Opening Day starter perhaps is not the most important pitching decision the D-backs have to make considering the fifth starter and closer roles are to be determined — or at least announced.

Corbin Burnes is having himself a camp

Speaking of Burnes, he started Saturday’s Cactus League game against the Chicago White Sox and struck out the side in the first inning, similar to his spring debut last month.

He threw four innings with a fifth up-down and allowed one run on four hits with four strikeouts.

Burnes has made five spring appearances with a 1.35 ERA, for what that’s worth, but more importantly he feels the work he’s put in is showing.

“We’re not really fighting mechanically,” Burnes said. “We’ve worked on the slider a little bit, the slider has been pretty good. So just pleased with how the work we put in is kind of showing up in game, and we’re happy with where it’s at. So main focus is getting built up now that we’ve kind of put everything together.”

Diamondbacks pitching plans

The D-backs will run out Brandon Pfaadt on Sunday in Peoria against the San Diego Padres.

Merrill Kelly will get the home split-squad assignment on Monday against the Los Angeles Angels, while Ryne Nelson will start the road leg at the Kansas City Royals in Surprise.

Tuesday is an off day, and left-hander Jordan Montgomery will return to the bump on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies. Eduardo Rodriguez, fresh off 3.2 scoreless innings with six strikeouts on Friday, will pitch on the backfields on Wednesday.

Reliever Kendall Graveman will throw a bullpen on Monday after back tightness has slowed his progress this spring.

New Diamondbacks reliever

The Diamondbacks agreed to sign relief pitcher J.P. Feyereisen to a minor league deal, the Triple-A Reno Aces announced on Saturday.

Feyereisen is a 32-year-old right-hander who has 93 games of major league experience between the Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers.

He threw 89.2 innings between 2020-22 for Milwaukee and Tampa Bay to a 2.31 ERA, 85 strikeouts and 43 walks.

J.P. Feyereisen, Nasty 88mph Changeup. 👌 @ReviewngTheBrew pic.twitter.com/hB1hHCH7WF

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 10, 2021

The Wisconsin native did not give up a single earned run in 24.1 innings in 2022, as the righty put up excellent strikeout (29.1%) and walk (5.8%) rates.

He did not pitch after June 2 due to right shoulder impingement, however. He missed all of 2023 while recovering from shoulder surgery, and he made only 10 appearances for the Dodgers after coming back in 2024.

Related

Diamondbacks prospects taking advantage of spring training opportunitiesMLB.com: D-backs' pitching staff among best in MajorsSpring notes: Torey Lovullo open to flexible lineup, Eduardo Rodriguez dominates startDiamondbacks try shaking up lineup to get stars going, loss sets up key rubber match vs. NationalsWhy are the Diamondbacks wearing hats that do not match their jerseys this weekend?Eduardo Rodriguez delivers quality start, Paul Sewald bounces back in Diamondbacks win