Bowden: Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen an under-the-radar trade target
Gallen is 3-6 with a 6.10 ERA and 1.632 WHIP through 16 starts (79.2 innings pitched) this season.
Watch: The Arizona Diamondbacks' roller coaster: From beating the Dodgers to losing to the Rockies | 9 mins
It’s been a rocky 2026 for Arizona Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen after re-signing with the franchise on a one-year contract this offseason.
His most recent outing on Saturday that ended with a shower of boos at home was a prime example of that.
The reunion hasn’t been what many expected. And with the MLB trade deadline in the not-so-distant future (Aug. 3), The Athletic’s Jim Bowden has Gallen as an under-the-radar trade target to watch.
A change of scenery might be just what the doctor ordered to try and turn his career back in the direction it was just three years ago, when he started the All-Star Game for the National League.
This season, Gallen is 3-6 with a 6.10 ERA and 1.632 WHIP through 16 starts (79.2 innings pitched). He has recorded just three quality starts.
The veteran ranks last among qualified starting pitchers in both ERA and WHIP. His last start — nine earned runs on 12 hits in four innings pitched — didn’t help.
How much is Zac Gallen’s 1-year contract with the Diamondbacks?
Gallen inked a one-year deal worth $22.03 million with most of the money deferred after failing to land a long-term contract.
The Diamondbacks are back in action Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals. First pitch is slated for 4:45 p.m. and can be heard on Arizona Sports 98.7.
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Comments
9 Comments
Zac's 31st birthday is August 3rd...maybe the best birthday present will be a new team on the last day of the MLB trade deadline.
The last season that Zac pitched well was the 2022 season where he had a 2.54 ERA...since that season, his ERA has been going up.
There have been studies that stated that a pitcher starts to lose velocity and etc. between 27 and 30...thus a pitcher needs to learn to pitch versus just throwing hard.
The last season and this season, he has greatly underperformed. It could be a physical problem or a mental problem or an aging problem or some of these.
The Dbacks need to trade him even if they get nothing in return. Business is business and personal is personal...this is business, Gallen is costing the Dbacks money.
You are right about his trade value.
Last year, no team was willing to offer the Dbacks anything of value for Gallen before the trade deadline.
During the off-season, no team was willing to come close to Gallen's terms. It was reported that most teams only offered 1 to 2 years at the $20M-$25M per year range. Gallen wanted six years and above $30M a year.
This year, Gallen is the worst starting pitcher in the MLB with the highest ERA.
I serious doubt that a team is willing to trade more than a Single A prospect to the Dbacks. Even if the Dbacks gets a 5-gallon Gatorade cooler, that is better than nothing.
I know a lot of people are hating on Gallen, but I really thought he would bounce back this year, and it's sad to see that hasn't happen. Even last year with his bad ERA, players were still batting low .200's against him, just the hits were harder than previous years. I thought maybe some adjustments in the offseason would fix things, but he is getting clobbered to a batting avg of over .300 this year. That just doesn't cut it. Only 5 guys have worst OBA's than Gallen, 2 are gone, 1 is in the minors and 2 are position players.
A change of scenery will do him some good. I don't know if it's confidence or loss of strength or mechanics, but a trade would be good for him because otherwise I see a DFA in his future.