Lovullo takes stock of '24 as D-backs turn page to '25
Steve Gilbert
@SteveGilbertMLBThis story was excerpted from Steve GilbertĄ¯s D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Everyone loves leftovers this time of year, so I thought I'd take this newsletter to give you some leftovers from last week's Winter Meetings as well as some news and notes we haven't covered recently.
One thing that didn't get much attention was manager Torey Lovullo's annual Winter Meetings media session. Here are some notes from it:
PROCESSING THE SEASON
Lovullo's team went from 84 wins in 2023 to 89 wins in 2024, but unlike 2023 when they qualified for the postseason, this time around they finished in a three-way tie for the final two NL Wild Card spots and lost tiebreakers to the Braves and Mets.
That brought a sudden end to the season, one that Lovullo really struggled with until he sat down with GM Mike Hazen, managing general partner Ken Kendrick and team president/CEO Derrick Hall for a meeting that is standard not long after a season ends.
"I was bitter for a while," Lovullo said. "I'm not going to lie. I wasn't going to run from it and pretend that I wasn't. It was probably the meeting with ownership [when I] sat down with Ken and Derrick, and I was able to offload exactly how I was feeling, and that always makes somebody feel better. They gave us some positive reinforcements.
"We understood what happened during the year. We talked it out. We talked about it for a good 10 or 15 minutes. That was probably 10 days, two weeks after the season. I don't know exactly what the day was, but probably two weeks before I finally said, 'OK, it's time to move on. I have to get away from what happened.'"
TOUGH ENDING
When the Diamondbacks beat the Brewers, 5-0, on Sept. 21 to improve to 87-68, they had a 93 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
The next day, a Sunday that Arizona fans will remember for a while, the D-backs took an 8-0 lead in the top of the third only to end up losing, 10-9.
Still, Arizona had an 82.7 percent chance of making the postseason, but the loss seemed to really take something out of the Diamondbacks.
Over the final six games against the Giants and Padres, the Diamondbacks went 2-4.
"You always target what happened most recently, right?" Lovullo said. "You are always looking at the games 155 through 162."
But as he went on to point out, when you don't make the postseason by just one game, there are many other games you can blame.
PAVIN CAN HIT
When Lovullo was asked about whether Pavin Smith could be part of the solution at first base next season with the likely departure of free agent Christian Walker, Lovullo used a phrase that he has uttered almost any time Smith's name comes up.
"You know what I'm going to say," Lovullo said. "Pavin can hit."
All kidding aside, the Diamondbacks, from Hazen to Lovullo, believe in Smith's ability and acknowledge that he hasn't really gotten a long look in the big leagues, so don't be surprised if he's part of the mix at first in 2025.
COACHING STAFF FINALIZED
With the dismissals of pitching coach Brent Strom, assistant pitching coach Dan Carlson and bullpen coach Mike Fetters, as well as third-base coach Tony Perezchica taking a job with the Astros and assistant hitting coach Rick Short switching to Minor League field coordinator, the 2025 Arizona coaching staff will have five new faces.
Brian Kaplan will take over as pitching coach after serving as the PhilliesĄ¯ assistant pitching coach and director of pitching over the past three seasons. Kaplan will be assisted by Owen Dew, who spent the previous eight seasons as a pitching coach in the GuardiansĄ¯ Minor League system.
Wellington Cepeda will be the bullpen coach. Cepeda spent 19 seasons as a coach in the Arizona system after playing in the Minor Leagues for the Diamondbacks from 1997-2000. He was the MarlinsĄ¯ bullpen coach over the past five seasons.
Shaun Larkin will move from farm director after one season to replace Perezchica as the third-base coach. Larkin was an infielder in the GuardiansĄ¯ organization from 2002-07 and played for Lovullo, who managed in the Cleveland farm system during that stretch.
Travis Denker, who has been coaching in the Arizona system for six seasons, will take over for Short as the Major League hitting coach. Denker played in 24 games with the Giants in 2008.