Fox Sports’ Rosenthal: Torey Lovullo will be NL Manager of the Year
Mar 30, 2017, 6:38 PM
FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2016, file photo, new Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo speaks to the media at an introductory press conference at Chase Field in Phoenix. After general manager Dave Stewart and manager Chip Hale were fired following last season’s disappointing 69-93 campaign, the Diamondbacks snagged GM Mike Hazen from Boston to take over as general manager and Torey Lovullo, John Farrell’s Red Sox bench coach, as the new Arizona manager. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
(AP Photo/Matt York, File)
Torey Lovullo has yet to manage a single regular season game with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but one prominent baseball analyst thinks he could be the this season’s National League Manager of the Year.
In a piece making some pre-Opening Day predictions, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports wrote that Arizona’s first-year skipper will be receiving some post-season hardware.
Voters often prefer managers from teams that exceed expectations, so I’m ruling out the obvious choices from contenders – the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, Cubs’ Joe Maddon, Nationals’ Dusty Baker, etc. I would have picked the Rockies’ Bud Black if not for the team’s recent run of injuries.Do I envision the D-backs as serious contenders? No. But can they be enough of a surprise to elevate Lovullo in his first season? Sure.
While Rosenthal doesn’t expect Lovullo to mold Arizona into a serious contender in year one, he thinks he can improve the D-backs from their 69-93 record in 2016.
Lovullo comes from the defending AL East champion Boston Red Sox, with whom he served as bench coach. He served as the team’s interim manager for a stretch in 2015, guiding the squad to a 28-21 record during John Farrell’s absence.
The pieces for a successful season, at least when compared to 2016, may be in place for the D-backs.
Though they had down seasons last year, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and pitcher Zack Greinke are among the best at their positions, and a return to health for center fielder A.J. Pollock gives the D-backs another star in their lineup.
Add in a surging Brandon Drury at second base and Robbie Ray on the mound as well as bounceback campaigns from pitchers Shelby Miller and Patrick Corbin, and Lovullo certainly has some talent to work with.
Besides, the idea that Arizona could climb back near the .500 mark is not terribly unrealistic, given that in 2015 the team finished with a 79-83 record.
