The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Torey Lovullo is only under contract through the 2021 season.
He might not even last that long, according to some MLB odds.
BetOnline recently unveiled odds for who will be the first MLB manager fired in 2021 and Lovullo is seventh on the list among all MLB managers.
Lovullo has 10/1 odds, not much lower than the odds of the six managers ahead of him.
Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is No. 1 at 7/1, followed by the Colorado Rockies Bud Black, the Texas Rangers’ Chris Woodward and the Seattle Mariners’ Scott Servais, who are each at 8/1.
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Derek Shelton and the Los Angeles Angels’ Joe Maddon are right in front of Lovullo, at 9/1.
BetOnline interestingly also has odds for Lovullo winning NL Manager of the Year.
He comes in tied at No. 9 in those odds, at 12/1, tied with David Bell of the Cincinnati Reds and Mike Shildt of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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How hot is Torey Lovullo’s seat?
Lovullo won National League Manager of the Year honors in 2017, but the Diamondbacks have missed the playoffs each of the past three years, twice in seasons in which they were expected to perform better.
Earlier this month, Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall maneuvered around multiple questions about Lovullo’s contract status in a meeting with reporters.
“I don’t want to speak for him, but I know he’s focused on the team,” Hall said. “He’s focused on Opening Day and I think he would want our attention to be right there, too. But if he ever expressed the need to sit down or if he expressed any discomfort with where he is right now, that would be different. We’ve just seen no signs, nor would we expect to. That’s not who he is. He’s not motivated by that.”
The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro wrote of the meeting: “Hall spoke highly of Lovullo but stopped short of saying he wanted him back beyond this season. Hall said he did not want to talk contract with his manager because he believed Lovullo wouldn’t want to because spring training was already underway.”
He added: “Hall’s rhetoric is almost identical to the way the club avoided talking about a potential contract extension for Paul Goldschmidt before he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.”
Sports-Teller.com recently released a list of the Top 10 MLB managers on the hot seat in 2021 and Lovullo was ranked No. 4 on its list.
Hyde was No. 1, followed by Servais and Black.
Sports Illustrated recently took a list at where every manager was at on the hot seat spectrum for 2021 and it listed Lovullo and Bell as “lame ducks walking.”
Will Laws wrote: “The Diamondbacks may be in even worse shape after finishing last in the NL West in 2020. Kole Calhoun, the team’s best hitter last season, underwent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus last week. We’re onto Year 2 of Madison Bumgarner’s five-year, $85 million contract, and, well, Year 1 was a disaster (6.48 ERA in nine starts). The one piece of good news is the National League apparently won’t adopt the designated hitter this season. Arizona doesn’t have another fearsome bat to inject into the lineup and is probably better off with Bumgarner and the rest of the pitching staff taking their licks.”
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Complete odds: First MLB manager fired
- Brandon Hyde (Baltimore Orioles) – 7/1
- Bud Black (Colorado Rockies) – 8/1
- Chris Woodward (Texas Rangers) – 8/1
- Scott Servais (Seattle Mariners) – 8/1
- Derek Shelton (Pittsburgh Pirates) – 9/1
- Joe Maddon (Los Angeles Angels) – 9/1
- Torey Lovullo (Arizona Diamondbacks) – 10/1
- Craig Counsell (Milwaukee Brewers) – 12/1
- Dusty Baker (Houston Astros) – 14/1
- Mike Matheny (Kansas City Royals) – 14/1
- Tony La Russa (Chicago White Sox) – 14/1
- Aaron Boone (New York Yankees) – 16/1
- Dave Martinez (Washington Nationals) – 16/1
- David Bell (Cincinnati Reds) – 16/1
- Gabe Kapler (San Francisco Giants) – 16/1
- Luis Rojas (New York Mets) – 16/1
- Terry Francona (Cleveland Indians) – 16/1
- David Ross (Chicago Cubs) – 22/1
- Bob Melvin (Oakland Athletics) – 25/1
- Joe Girardi (Philadelphia Phillies) – 25/1
- AJ Hinch (Detroit Tigers) – 33/1
- Dave Roberts (Los Angeles Dodgers) – 33/1
- Kevin Cash (Tampa Bay Rays) – 33/1
- Mike Shildt (St. Louis Cardinals) – 33/1
- Rocco Baldelli (Minnesota Twins) – 33/1
- Alex Cora (Boston Red Sox) – 40/1
- Brian Snitker (Atlanta Braves) – 40/1
- Charlie Montoyo (Toronto Blue Jays) – 40/1
- Don Mattingly (Miami Marlins) – 50/1
- Jayce Tingler (San Diego Padres) – 50/1
Complete odds: NL Manager of the Year
- Brian Snitker (Atlanta Braves) – 7/1
- Dave Roberts (Los Angeles Dodgers) – 8/1
- Don Mattingly (Miami Marlins) – 8/1
- Jayce Tingler (San Diego Padres) – 8/1
- Luis Rojas (New York Mets) – 9/1
- Craig Counsell (Milwaukee Brewers) – 10/1
- David Ross (Chicago Cubs) – 10/1
- Joe Girardi (Philadelphia Phillies) – 10/1
- David Bell (Cincinnati Reds) – 12/1
- Mike Shildt (St. Louis Cardinals) – 12/1
- Torey Lovullo (Arizona Diamondbacks) – 12/1
- Dave Martinez (Washington Nationals) – 14/1
- Gabe Kapler (San Francisco Giants) – 14/1
- Bud Black (Colorado Rockies) – 16/1
- Derek Shelton (Pittsburgh Pirates) – 16/1
– odds courtesy of BetOnline