The Mariners keep saying they want an experienced manager, and Torey Lovullo keeps looking like the cleanest answer on the board.
That possibility got a louder push Tuesday morning when Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall, speaking with Mike Broomhead on KTAR News 92.3 FM, sounded more than willing to let Lovullo test the market. Lovullo’s contract in Arizona expires after this season, and Hall made it plain how highly he thinks of him.
"If he walks out this door, he's going to get a job in a heartbeat, and he should because I do think he's one of the best managers in the game."
Derrick Hall
That’s not exactly a hard sell for another club. It sounds a lot like an executive preparing for the very real possibility that his manager is gone. And if the Diamondbacks are already talking that way, the Mariners ought to be listening.
Lovullo is an easy target for the surface-level critique. He has a losing record in Arizona and only two playoff trips in 10 years.
But the fuller picture is harder to dismiss. The 2017 NL Manager of the Year has put together six winning seasons while working in a division with the Dodgers and Padres, and he managed to take Arizona to the World Series in 2023.
He also checks a couple of boxes Seattle has said it wants checked. Lovullo has a reputation for building tight bonds with his players, which lines up with the kind of relationship Dan Wilson had with the room. He also has a past connection with Jerry Dipoto from their time together in Boston.
That said, there’s still a big question hanging over this whole search: how much control is Dipoto really willing to share?
Dipoto sounded more contrite and humble than usual when he met with the media Tuesday, but his reputation around the game is for wanting as much say as possible. That makes it fair to wonder whether he’d truly embrace an experienced manager who brings his own ideas and his own way of running a club.
Jeff Passan added to that concern Wednesday morning on Seattle Sports.
"As much as there are names being tied to the Mariners right now, I don't think they're just going to be looking at guys who have been there and done that. I don't think they have any problem with a first-time manager coming in, as long as he fits what they believe they want the culture to be."
Jeff Passan
For a team openly talking about a culture reset, that’s a notable wrinkle. It suggests the Mariners may not be locked into the idea that the next manager has to come with a long track record, even if that was supposed to be the preference.
Money could complicate things too. On Puck Sports with Jason Puckett, Ryan Divish said the Mariners pay a little over $1 million a year for their manager, while Lovullo is closer to $5 million with the Diamondbacks. If he truly becomes available, and if other teams want him, that number could climb fast in a bidding war.
So this is where the Mariners’ talk has to meet the reality. They say they want experience.
They say they want a reset. They say they’re willing to do more.
If all of that is real, Lovullo should be right in the middle of the conversation.
What they do next will say plenty about how serious they are.
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