The Ketel Marte mess in Arizona has done more than stir up frustration for Diamondbacks fans. It may also put manager Torey Lovullo on the chopping block.
A recent FanSided report by Pat Ragazzo says the Diamondbacks could consider moving on from Lovullo after speaking with rival executives and scouts about how the Marte situation might play out this offseason. One rival NL scout told Ragazzo that Arizona could end up choosing Marte over Lovullo, especially with the manager’s contract set to expire after the 2026 season.
The backdrop here is a rough one. Marte was a no-show during the Diamondbacks’ series against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 17, and the situation eventually escalated into the team placing him on the injured list with left knee inflammation.
He later publicly apologized to his teammates after returning. The trouble didn’t stop there, either.
Ragazzo’s report said the fallout has been tied to Marte being seen at a casino during his injured list stint and not communicating his absence to Lovullo.
There’s also the contract and roster-control reality hanging over all of this. Marte earning his 10/5 rights gives him a full no-trade clause with Arizona, which makes a clean split a lot harder. And according to the report, one rival NL scout believes the Diamondbacks may be headed toward cleaning house after failing to trade Marte at the 2026 Trade Deadline before he acquired those rights.
Marte’s history with the club only adds to the tension. Since 2023, he has had four unexpected absences, including another controversial one during All-Star week in 2025.
Lovullo, meanwhile, has been in charge of the Diamondbacks since 2017 and led them to the World Series in 2023 before losing to the Texas Rangers. The report suggests letting him go after the season would be the easiest exit for Arizona if the club decides it needs a reset.
But there’s a real argument that Lovullo shouldn’t be the one paying the price for this. The same report points out that this is a pattern with Marte, and that upper management had chances to address it by finding a way to move him. Still, if the Diamondbacks do decide to make a change, Lovullo’s expiring deal makes him the simplest name to push out.
Lovullo’s path to Arizona also runs through Toronto. He spent two seasons with the Blue Jays, in 2011 and 2012, as their first-base coach. After that, he followed former Blue Jays manager John Farrell to Boston, where he became the Red Sox bench coach and helped win a World Series in 2013.
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