Torey Lovullo and the Shortened Offseason
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Dec. 4) — It took about a week for Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo to fully process the way the season ended. Once that happened, it was time to get to work. But he has one fewer month than usual to get it done.
“I feel like we’re in November right now, for whatever reason. But it’s not. We’re in December. The calendar is going to turn in 20-plus days, and it always seems like when that calendar turns into the new year, you’re downhill to spring training.”
The biggest surprise of the shorter offseason has been what he described as a balance between figuring out what month it is and being able to balance his own personal time. “The demand on my time has been very heavy,” he said. “Deservedly so. I signed up for it. I’m not complaining about it. I just have to be a little bit better to get some personal time for myself.”
Sending the Right Message to the Players
It has sped up the annual “exit interviews” they have with every player, regardless of whether that player is returning. For one, they’ve been over Zoom instead of in-person. These calls ended last week. They had a “very particular agenda” of what they wanted to accomplish in the meetings. “It is about what (they) are going to do to rest, recover, and get ready (for 2024),” Lovullo said.
The team has “earned the right to say things are a little bit of whack,” but they have “a process and a plan” to keep preparations moving in the right direction and at the right pace.
They also are taking care to avoid complacency. Emphasis is placed on “not taking anything for granted” or that success will “happen automatically.” Instead, he and the rest of the staff are making sure the players are focusing on being the best version of themselves.
“I want them to continue to hear that,” Lovullo explained, “because they should enjoy where they’ve been, but it’s not their final destination. We’ve got to find a way to get to that final destination. If we do, how are we going to reload and continue to evolve? That’s how this game is.”
Interaction between Torey Lovullo and Mike Hazen
His phone calls with general manager Mike Hazen have been quick. “You guys would be amazed,” Lovullo recounted. “My oldest son always gets blown away at how fast we transition from being in the middle of the conversation to having the conversation end. It’s like (descriptive sound of two sentences). ‘All right, dude, bye.’ That fast. That’s what we have been doing for the past three weeks.
“It’s been very quick, fast-moving, and probably two or three times a day where we have 15 seconds of a conversation, goodbye because he is extremely busy, and I know that.”
But Lovullo hasn’t tried to push Hazen into moves. “I know Mike so well,” he smiled. “The harder I push at something, the less inclined he’s going to be to doing it. He does the exact opposite of what I ask for.”
With how close the team came to a title in 2023, there is no extra urgency to win in 2024. The “all-in mentality” would have been there either way. Lovullo said the mentality does not come out of panic but out of “necessity.” He added, “That’s who we are every single day. It never changes. We’re not on anybody’s time clock. We know player A, B, or C will be with us for this long. I don’t think that’s part of the equation or part of the calculus. We do it every single day the same way. Let’s make us better tomorrow.”
Looking Ahead
The Winter Meetings continue Tuesday and will conclude Wednesday with the Rule Five Draft. Check back with Sport Relay for more coverage.
Main Photo Credits:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Dec 4) — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo addresses the media at the 2023 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings. (Photo by Evan Thompson/Sport Relay)
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