D-backs’ Torey Lovullo ‘confused’ like many by Rob Manfred’s 180

Even with such a staggering amount of ground to make up for MLB and its players to come to an agreement, there was seemingly always a failsafe.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said as much, that even though negotiations were going poorly on a return for baseball, he was still “100%” on a 2020 season happening.

After the players pulled out of negotiations and simply asked Manfred and MLB “when and where” they want to play, Manfred pulled back on his guarantee.

“I’m not confident,” he told ESPN for its “Return to Sports” special on Monday. “I think there’s real risk; and as long as there’s no dialogue, that real risk is gonna continue.”

That was a sudden 180 made by Manfred, which left Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo sharing the same reaction as many.

“I’m just like everybody else — I saw that and I was a little bit confused,” he said on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo Tuesday. “I know a short time ago he said we were going to play baseball. He was 100% certain of that, and then over the weekend something changed and he said what he said.”

Regardless of that and a lack of info for him as a manager, Lovullo believes it was all in good faith from Manfred.

“I haven’t heard much about the reasons why today so I’m not exactly certain the reason why … but I know there was a good reason for it,” he said.

A statement from Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark released shortly after Manfred’s appearance on TV said that players were “disgusted” by the commissioner going back on his word and noted it as the “the latest threat” made by the league.

The chance that there will be no MLB season increased substantially Monday when the commissioner’s office told the players’ association it will not proceed with a schedule unless the threat of legal action by the union is resolved.

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