Zac Gallen took a risk early in the offseason by declining the Arizona Diamondbacks' one-year, roughly $22 million qualifying offer. That decision led to the 30-year-old sitting on the market for quite some time, but his free-agent wait is finally over.
Was it worth the wait? Well, the deal he landed is essentially the qualifying offer, with deferred money.
Gallen reportedly agreed to a one-year, $22.025 million contract with the D-backs on Friday, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Approximately $14 million of the money is reportedly deferred.
Zac Gallen's red flags led to a cold free-agent market
While the longtime Diamondbacks starter has a history of success in the majors, he entered free agency at arguably the worst possible time. Gallen showed signs of decline in 2025, posting the highest ERA and lowest strikeout rate of his career in 192 innings with the Diamondbacks.
It marked a troubling trend for Gallen, who has seen his ERA rise in three straight seasons.
Early in his career, Gallen looked like a future superstar on the mound. He burst onto the scene in 2019, posting a 2.81 ERA with the Miami Marlins and Diamondbacks. He maintained that excellence during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 MLB season, earning-down ballot Cy Young votes.
After some uncharacteristic struggles in 2021, Gallen bounced back to turn in his two best seasons in the majors. In 2022 and 2023, he posted a 3.04 ERA over 394 innings. He ranked fourth in ERA, sixth in starting pitcher fWAR, seventh in strikeouts and eighth in innings pitched during that period. Gallen finished fifth in Cy Young voting in 2022 and third in 2023. For the first time in his career, he also gained a few MVP votes following his strong 2023 season.
He carried that success into the postseason, in which the Diamondbacks went on a miraculous run to the World Series. The team fell short in the end, falling to the Texas Rangers in five games. Gallen performed well in his only World Series start, allowing just one run over 6 1/3 innings in Game 1. Despite that, he was saddled with the loss.
While the team's World Series run was an overall positive, it came with an unfortunate side effect. Gallen tossed a total of 243 2/3 innings in 2023. That workload might have come back to bite him in 2024.
Gallen got off to a solid start the following year, posting a 3.12 ERA over his first 11 starts before sustaining a hamstring injury. The issue kept him sidelined for a month. While his first start back was encouraging, Gallen then posted a 5.02 ERA over his next 11 games. He finished the year strong, posting a 2.67 ERA in his final five games, but it still marked his worst year in the majors since 2021.
Things got even worse in 2025. Over his first 22 starts, Gallen posted a 5.20 ERA. He had the worst strikeout rate and highest home-run rate of his career. He rebounded down the stretch, posting a 3.32 ERA in his final 11 games, but that came with an even lower strikeout rate, leading to questions about his ability moving forward.
Does re-signing Gallen move the needle for the D-backs?
Gallen's return reinforces a D-backs rotation that could be best described as solid but is by no means spectacular.
The team was previously set to enter Opening Day with a rotation of Merrill Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Soroka. Kelly was also a free agent this offseason and returned on a two-year, $40 million deal, while Soroka came aboard on a one-year, $7.5 million contract. It's a veteran group with limited upside, though it's set to get a boost when former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes returns at some point this season.
Gallen certainly presents some risk, but Arizona is more aware of the potential reward than any other team. That was apparently reason enough to bring him back, and he'll certainly be motivated to perform better ahead of a second foray into free agency.