Source: D-backs, Zac Gallen reach agreement on 1-year dealAlden GonzalezFeb 13, 2026, 09:32 PM ETClose
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are bringing back starting pitcher Zac Gallen after reaching agreement on a one-year, $22.05 million deal, a source told ESPN on Friday, confirming multiple reports.
The deal, which is pending a physical, is worth the same value as the qualifying offer Gallen rejected earlier this offseason, according to a source.
The second half of a one-for-one prospect swap alongside Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the summer of 2019, Gallen jumped from the Miami Marlins to the Diamondbacks and became one of the most successful pitchers in franchise history, ultimately ranking behind only Randy Johnson and Brandon Webb with 65 wins.
Editor’s Picks
Why didn’t your favorite MLB team get a _____? Most surprising offseason decision for all 30 clubs
Olney and Passan’s MLB offseason lessons — and what they mean for baseball’s future
MLB free agency tracker: 2025-26 offseason trades, moves
Gallen went 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA in 31 starts for the D-backs in 2022 and finished fifth in National League Cy Young Award voting, then went 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA in 210 innings in 2023 and finished third.
Since then, though, his production fell off.
Gallen, 30, missed about a month with a hamstring strain in 2024 but still managed to go 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA. This past season, his ERA jumped to a career-high 4.83 and his strikeout rate dropped to a career-low 21.5%. Opponents went from slugging .230 against his curveball in 2024 to .438 in 2025.
The D-backs traded his longtime rotation mate, Merrill Kelly, before the trade deadline but opted to keep Gallen at least in part to later extend him the $22.025 million qualifying offer, which he declined by the Nov. 18 deadline.
