Pittsburgh pirates Hired Torey Lovullo as New Manager

As the manager of the reigning National League champion, Lovullo and his staff will coach the All-Star Game.

And while Lovullo said that he is in communication with the league about lineup decisions for the game, the ultimate call rests with him.

In his pregame news conference Thursday, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo did not commit to naming a starting pitcher for the National League ahead of next week’s All-Star Game. He sure made it sound, though, like the nod could go to Pirates phenom Paul Skenes.

“I know this is going to go out as fast as lightning, in particular Paul Skenes, he’s come on very quickly,” Lovullo said. “He’s been an unbelievable addition to Major League Baseball. He’s created a lot of interest in Major League Baseball. I’m going to be situationally aware of that when I’m making this decision.”

From a star power and name recognition perspective, Skenes would be second to none among Lovullo’s options. The other starting pitchers on the team include Hunter Greene (Reds), Shota Imanaga (Cubs), Chris Sale (Braves), Ranger Suarez (Phillies), Logan Webb (Giants) and Zack Wheeler (Phillies).