The Arizona Diamondbacks are reacquiring ace hurler Zac Gallen following the finalization of a one-year, $22.05 million contract, as reported by a source to ESPN on Friday, substantiating numerous accounts.
This accord for Gallen, contingent on a medical examination, carries an identical valuation to the qualifying proposal he declined at the start of the current offseason. Per The Athletic, it also features roughly $14 million in postponed payments.
Acquired in the summer of 2019 as the second component of a direct prospect exchange involving Jazz Chisholm Jr., Gallen transferred from the Miami Marlins to the Diamondbacks. He subsequently established himself as a highly accomplished hurler in the team’s annals, eventually placing solely behind Randy Johnson and Brandon Webb with 65 victories.
In 2022, Gallen posted a 12-4 record with a 2.51 ERA across 31 starts for the D-backs, securing a fifth-place finish in the National League Cy Young Award ballot. He then followed up in 2023 with a 17-9 record and a 3.47 ERA over 210 innings, culminating in a third-place finish.
However, subsequent to that period, his performance has experienced a decline.
Gallen, aged 30, was sidelined for approximately a month due to a hamstring injury in 2024, yet he still achieved a 14-6 record with a 3.65 ERA. During the most recent season, his earned run average escalated to a personal peak of 4.83, while his strikeout percentage decreased to an all-time low of 21.5%. Batters’ slugging percentage against his curveball surged from .230 in 2024 to .438 in 2025.
The D-backs dealt away his enduring pitching partner, Merrill Kelly, prior to the trade cutoff date, yet chose to retain Gallen, partly with the intention of subsequently presenting him the $22.025 million qualifying proposal, which he turned down before the November 18 deadline.
Alden Gonzalez of ESPN assisted in compiling this dispatch.