Diamondbacks reportedly give manager Torey Lovullo a two-year extension after team fell just short of playoffs

After being mired around .500 for the first half of the season, the Arizona Diamondbacks made a surprising postseason run in the second half, falling just short of the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.

Even though the team ultimately failed, its second-half surge was reportedly enough to get manager Torey Lovullo an extension, per the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro.

The deal is said to be for two years, per Piecoro, which puts Lovullo on the same contract timeline as team general manager Mike Hazen.

The move comes after an eventful season with Lovullo at the helm. While the Diamondbacks never truly struggled, the team went 49-47 in the first half. That was solid, but not good enough for a playoff spot. At the time of the All-Star break, the Diamondbacks sat 2.5 games back of the final wild-card position in the National League.

With the team still battling for the playoff spot a month later, star second baseman Ketel Marte failed to show up for a game against the Boston Red Sox . He was eventually placed on the restricted list and missed time due to a knee injury. During Marte's absence, Lovullo faced multiple questions about the second baseman's behavior and how the team would handle it.

Marte eventually returned and — to Lovullo's credit — the team rallied to finish the year. After a 15-10 July, the team went 15-14 in August. But through the first 15 games in September, the D-Backs were just 7-8 and saw their playoff chances slipping away.

On Sept. 18, the team sat five games out of a wild-card spot after losing their previous three contests. Their season appeared to be all but done.

But a six-game winning streak pushed the team to just a game back of the Philadelphia Phillies with two games to go. Both teams lost the next day, taking the playoff race to the final game of the season.

Though they fought valiantly at the end, the Diamondbacks couldn't get it done. The team lost its regular-season finale and the Phillies won. Arizona wound up missing the playoffs by two games.

The team's moderate start, combined with the Marte situation, led some to wonder whether Lovullo would be fired at the end of the regular season, even with the team's last-second surge. Instead, the Diamondbacks will show faith in their skipper, who has posted a .494 winning percentage in his 10 seasons with the franchise.

He won't have long to prove the team right. The two-year deal sends a clear message to both Hazen and Lovullo. If the team doesn't bounce back and go on a deep playoff run in the next two years, both men are likely to be ousted at the same time, clearing the path for a new era in Arizona.