Lovullo provides on-the-bench training for new manager

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo had Ronnie Gajownik as his bench coach for Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres as she prepares for her first managing job.

Gajownik, 29, was hired during the offseason as manager of the Diamondbacks’ minor league affiliate Hillsboro Hops. She’ll be the first woman to manage a minor league high Class-A team.

“I told her we’re just going to sit down, talk baseball for nine innings and let’s have some fun with it,” Lovullo said.

Rachel Balkovec became the first woman to manage a professional baseball team at any level last year when she led the New York Yankees’ Class A Tampa Tarpons.

A’s

A get-to-know-you weekend? The Athletics, whose lease at RingCentral Coliseum

expires after the 2024 season, are playing two games in Las Vegas this weekend. The two-day visit comes with the continued conversation that Las Vegas could become a permanent home for the A’s in the future if the lengthy, ongoing search for a stadium solution in the Bay Area doesn’t materialize soon.

Blue Jays

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. withdrew from playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic due to inflammation in his right knee. Manager Guerrero left the Blue Jays’ game on Friday with discomfort in the knee after taking some awkward steps into second base following a hit.

Red Sox

Left-hander James Paxton has a grade 1 strain of his right hamstring and seems unlikely to be on the opening day roster. Paxton pitched Friday, his first in a game in nearly two years after having Tommy john surgery in 2021.