PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks are bringing back manager Torey Lovullo for his 11th season with the franchise, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The person said Lovullo's deal is for two years. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the new deal hasn't been announced.
A news conference with Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen was scheduled for later Thursday.
The 61-year-old's future with the club was in flux after the D-backs missed the playoffs for a third straight year. Arizona was eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season for the second time in three seasons when the Phillies beat the Rays 7-4 on Sunday.
The D-backs finished with an 86-76 record — the best in MLB for a team that didn’t qualify for October baseball.
Lovullo is the winningest manager in Diamondbacks history, going 750-768 during a full decade in charge, with the highlight being a surprise World Series appearance in 2023. He is the third-longest tenured manager in the big leagues behind Tampa Bay's Kevin Cash and Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts.
The postseason success in 2023 raised expectations in the desert, but the D-backs haven’t been able to make it back to the playoffs. Arizona won 89 games in 2024, but missed out on October baseball after losing a tiebreaker to the New York Mets.
The D-backs were in playoff contention for much of 2025 before fading down the stretch and finishing with an 80-82 record.
Arizona started this season with postseason expectations and were in contention throughout the summer, but the team could never quite reach its full potential. Two of the team’s main starting pitchers — Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly — struggled and injuries to ace right-hander Corbin Burnes, relievers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, and top prospect Jordan Lawlar put a dent in their depth.
Catcher Gabriel Moreno won the NL batting title this season, but other key hitters like Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo were inconsistent.
Late-season drama surrounding Marte’s no-show in Boston back in August didn’t help momentum.
The affable Lovullo is a popular presence in the organization. He played eight seasons in the big leagues for seven teams in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series in 2013 and played college baseball at UCLA.
He was hired following the 2016 season by general manager Mike Hazen and named the 2017 NL Manager of the Year after leading the Diamondbacks to a 93-win season — a 24-win improvement over the previous year — and a trip to the playoffs.
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Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo pauses in the team dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' manager Torey Lovullo smiles in the dugout before a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday fast-tracked a proposed oil pipeline capable of carrying one million barrels a day to the Pacific coast, which could reduce the country’s dependence on the United States and mend relations with oil-rich Alberta as separatists push for a referendum on leaving Canada.
Appearing with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Fort McMurray, at the heart of Canada’s oil sands, Carney designated the Pacific Link pipeline as a project of national interest under legislation his government enacted to accelerate major infrastructure projects.
Alberta is holding a public vote on Oct. 19 on whether to hold a referendum on leaving Canada. Smith has long complained that Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, hindered Alberta’s energy industry and fueled separatist sentiment.
Smith said she would vote to keep Alberta in Canada and described the roughly 22% support for separation recorded in a recent poll as “still too high for my liking.”
“I don’t like the fact that many of our fellow citizens have given up on Canada,” she said, calling the pipeline an example of how “cooperative federalism can work in action.”
Asked what message Albertans considering separation should take, Carney said it demonstrated that “Canada is working” and showed what Canada could achieve together.
Ian Brodie, a University of Calgary political science professor and former chief of staff to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said the announcement could still help separatists by underscoring Alberta’s dependence on Ottawa.
“There’s no reason this pipeline couldn’t have been fast-tracked in July, so we’ve lost three months in the project,” Brodie said. “It’s a reminder that Alberta has to have a sympathetic prime minister in order to grow its oil sector. We don’t control our fate.”
Carney said Canada had a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to become an energy superpower” and end its reliance on a single trading partner.
“Today, 90% of Alberta’s oil goes to the United States,” he said. “Pacific Link will materially reduce that dependence” by opening access to growing Asian markets.
The government described Canada’s reliance on U.S.-bound oil infrastructure a “structural vulnerability.” It said Pacific Link and improvements to the Trans Mountain system could cut the share of fixed pipeline capacity directed to the U.S. from around 83% to between 65% and70%.
The initiative comes as President Donald Trump’s trade war and threats against Canadian sovereignty push Carney to reduce Canada’s longstanding economic dependence on the U.S.
The proposed 1,250-kilometer (775-mile) pipeline would run from Bruderheim, Alberta, to a deep water port near Delta, in British Columbia, largely following the existing Trans Mountain corridor.
The project is expected to cost between $25 billion and $31 billion, but significant questions remain about its financing and whether producers will commit to using it.
Its designation does not amount to final approval. Proponents must still settle the engineering, costs and environmental conditions before deciding whether to proceed.
The federal and Alberta governments are contributing roughly $2.8 billion before the main private investor, Pembina Pipeline Corp., has committed its share of the construction costs. Pembina holds a 10% economic interest and would decide whether to invest by the time a final investment decision is made, a federal official said.
Asked how much federal taxpayers could ultimately contribute, Carney said: “The Canadian taxpayer is going to make a lot of money off this pipeline.” He declined to provide a figure.
An open season next spring will gauge how much capacity producers are willing to contract. Officials said there was significant interest but acknowledged that the project might not attract enough shippers or financing to proceed.
A senior government official said investors were watching to see whether Canada could approve major projects more quickly, noting that the Trans Mountain expansion took 14 years to progress from launch to first oil.
The pipeline also faces opposition from Indigenous communities and environmental groups. The government said most Indigenous communities consulted were not prepared to support the project’s listing, citing concerns about its route, environmental effects, marine shipping and treaty rights.
Carney said the “real intensive consultation process will begin now.”
Canada, Alberta and the project’s owners have committed to offering Indigenous communities an ownership stake of at least 10%.
The government also acknowledged that the pipeline was expected to facilitate increased oil production and generate additional emissions.
Carney said final regulatory conditions were expected by September 2027, with the pipeline projected to begin operating in 2032 or 2033.
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith listens during a news conference in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, regarding the Pacific Link pipeline project. (Greg Halinda/The Canadian Press via AP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, regarding the Pacific Link pipeline project. (Greg Halinda/The Canadian Press via AP)
Flags fly at the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event, Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Edmonton, Alberta. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, attends the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event, Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Edmonton, Alberta. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney attends the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event, Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Edmonton, Alberta. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, poses at the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event, Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Edmonton, Alberta. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney attends the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event, Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Edmonton, Alberta. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
