Quick hits: Lovullo, Votto, Carter, Lopez

Torey Lovullo received a one-year contract extension in June, and it looks like a long-term deal with Torey Lovullo could be in place soon. Diamondbacks manager. General manager Mike Hazen told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert that when Lovullo’s extension was being negotiated in the summer, he told the captain, “we have to survive the rest of the season. I said if something good happens, we make the playoffs and get to where we need to be, that he and I will have another conversation“

Needless to say, a lot of “good things” actually happened. The D’Backs made the playoffs, upset the NL Central winner Brewers and are two wins away from upsetting the Dodgers and reaching the NLCS for the third time in franchise history. Both Lovullo and Hazen joined the organization prior to the 2017 season, and with Hazen’s new contract keeping him in Arizona through at least the 2028 season, it makes sense that Lovullo would also receive additional security. With the D’Backs going through some difficulties ahead of 2023, Lovullo has been kept on something of a short leash as his previous two contracts were one-year with a club option (which was exercised) and then a one-year extension from June that sees him locked up for the 2024 season.

More from around the world of baseball….

• Now that Joey Votto he said he wants to come back next season, the question is whether that will happen Reds will exercise a $20 million club option for Votto’s services or purchase a $7 million option. According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, “the financial side of the decision to select him should be obvious,” given that Votto is worth more than $13 million as a “player brand that attracts and drives revenue.” Votto has become synonymous with Reds baseball on an international level, as Wittenmyer points out that Nike ranked Votto 13th on its list of best-selling jerseys. Wittenmyer believes that with the Reds having more revenue from attendance and TV ratings, it would be a mistake to let a franchise icon leave or even give other teams a chance to negotiate in free agency.
• Evan CarterThe immediate impact helped Guards reach the playoffs and then pass the Rays to take a 2-0 lead over the Orioles in the ALDS. It was quite a start for a player who had just made his MLB debut a month ago and was widely viewed as an incredibly big player when Texas selected him in the second round of the five-round draft in 2020. Yahoo Sports’ Hannah Keyser examines how the Rangers found Carter when was a high school senior in Tennessee, and the interest was piqued because former pitching coordinator Danny Clark was a childhood friend of Carter’s father. “We just identified him a little earlier and really liked him” said scout Derrick Tucker, and few other teams even had a chance to see Carter play because the pandemic canceled his baseball season his senior year. Even though Carter didn’t even crack the top 200 (from MLB Pipeline) or the top 500 (from Baseball America), and despite the slim margin of error in the shortened draft, the Rangers still make their selection and appear to have found a Hidden Gem.
• The Guards traditionally hasn’t spent much on bullpen acquisitions, but Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer believes the team will “do more than kick the tires when it comes to trying” to re-sign Reynaldo Lopez. Lopez, caught after Guard retired in the final minute of a playoff bout in late August, couldn’t have pitched better during his short stay in Cleveland, posting a perfect 0.00 ERA in 11 innings of relief work. With a 3.14 ERA over 189 innings in 2021-23, Lopez has quietly become a very solid reliever since moving full-time to the bullpen and is estimated to earn him one of the more lucrative contracts of any free agent this winter . This may represent something of a madness for the cost-conscious Guardians, but they clearly liked what they saw of the right-wing’s work.