Torey Lovullo has been the favorite to become the Arizona Diamondbacks' new manager throughout the search process, and he will indeed take the reins in Phoenix.
Lovullo has been hired to replace Chip Hale in Arizona's dugout, KMVP radio first reported Friday. The Red Sox bench coach the last four seasons, Lovullo has close ties with new Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen, who spent the last 10 years in Boston.
Lovullo, 51, drew raves in 2015 when he stepped in after Red Sox manager John Farrell left the team to undergo cancer treatment and led Boston to a 28-20 record to finish the season.
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An infielder in his playing days, Lovullo spent parts of eight seasons in the majors between 1988 and 1999 and played one more year in Japan before moving into coaching in the Cleveland Indians organization.
He inherits an Arizona team that was one of the game's biggest disappointments in 2016, going 69-93 after making one of the biggest splashes of last winter by signing Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206.5 million contract.
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Arizona's performance led to a housecleaning the last two months, with Hale, general manager Dave Stewart and senior vice president De Jon Watson getting the ax and former chief of baseball operations Tony La Russa moving to the diminshed role of analyst/advisor.
Diamondbacks Triple-A manager Phil Nevin reportedly was the other finalist for the managerial job. The Arizona Republic reports Nevin likely will leave for a position on the San Francisco Giants' staff.
