The Arizona Diamondbacks are on a four-game winning streak, and they have four games remaining on their schedule that will decide if their 2026 season ends or continues.

At the time of writing, Arizona is three games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the third and final National League Wild Card spot. The Diamondbacks will finish their series against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday before beginning a critical series against the San Diego Padres on Friday. 

Each game moving forward is a must-win for Arizona, and if it fails to make the playoffs, could this season be the final one for the two men leading the charge?

Hazen, the Diamondbacks’ general manager, and Lovullo, the team’s manager, have spent a decade at their posts within the organization, but time may soon be running out for them.

Lovullo is in the final year of an extension he signed in 2023, when the Diamondbacks were making their run to the World Series. Hazen also received a contract extension during the same time, which has him locked up through the 2028 season with a club option for 2029.

The 2023 season looked similar to how it does now for the Diamondbacks. They made it to the postseason with an 84-78 record and caught fire at the right time. 

Even though Arizona did not come out on the winning end of the Fall Classic, it marked the second time the franchise had made it. This is not bad for a franchise that had its inaugural season in 1998.

However, there is the other side of it. Since that run to the World Series, the Diamondbacks have failed to make the playoffs.

The 2025 campaign was a rough one for Lovullo, as he lost multiple key contributors to injury, most of which happened to decimate the pitching staff.

In 2024, the Diamondbacks had a better record than they did when they went to the World Series (89-73), but they failed to fight their way to a postseason bid in a highly competitive NL Wild Card landscape.

Under the guidance of Hazen and Lovullo, Arizona has only made the playoffs twice. Hazen has built a team with plenty of talent, but it just has not gotten the job done on a consistent enough basis. 

It is easier to believe Lovullo would be shown the door before Hazen, given the differences in their contracts, but the Diamondbacks’ ownership might want a change in direction altogether.

If Arizona makes the playoffs and makes some noise, their jobs might be safe. If not, the extensions they earned in 2023 will look increasingly like rewards for lightning in a bottle.