5 teams that should go all-out to acquire Zac Gallen to bolster their rotation

With the recent news that the Arizona Diamondbacks are gathering interest for their starting pitchers and may be looking to ship one of them out, it will be no surprise when teams come calling to offer up their best deal. Taking Zac Gallen, for example, who has performed at a high level (3.29 career ERA) over six seasons, the Diamondback's entertaining offers is a bit surprising.

Arizona is a playoff contender, but the biggest obstacle is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will be increasingly difficult to beat in the standings as the years go on. A quick reset and farm-strengthening to be better down the road may be in order, especially given that whoever is on the trade block's highest value is right now.

If they don't trade somebody now, they risk falling out of a Wild Card spot and losing their pitchers for nothing next winter. If they are ready to move someone like Gallen, these five teams must go all-in to acquire his services.

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5. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers, fresh off a World Series victory, will again be one of the busier teams this winter. With the common belief that L.A. is the favorite for Roki Sasaki, the team is also losing recently acquired Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler.

Shohei Ohtani will return to the mound, but there's still a hole in the Dodgers' rotation if the team is looking for another ace-level arm. It's entertaining, albeit unlucky, to see the Arizona trade within the division unless it's a move that signifies the D-Backs fleeced the Dodgers.

Still, L.A. shouldn't be taken lightly after landing Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto last offseason. They still have a deep farm system and a lot of money to burn. Seeing how the rich get richer this winter will not shock me.

4. Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland returned to the ALCS in 2024 after a fantastic campaign that saw the Guardians take the division crown with a 92-69 record. Like many others on this list, they are in win-now mode and have a rotation that is losing Shane Bieber, Alex Cobb, Matt Boyd, and Carlos Carrasco.

Only Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Ben Lively are among the team's starters in their depth chart. For a team that has primarily lived in the small market territory, finding a true difference-maker in free agency will be difficult.

Luckily, Cleveland has a strong farm system. With five top-100 prospects, they can create an enticing package for Gallen, who has just one remaining year on his deal. They will need to be willing to part with some of their prospect currency to keep their foot on the gas because they will unlikely go after top-tier talent in free agency. 

3. New York Mets

The New York Mets are at a place where their farm system is healthy enough to pull off a trade of this caliber and not wholly ruin minor league structure. With five top-100 prospects (MLB Pipeline), pulling off a one-year deal for Gallen is feasible, where the team has an advantage in extending him.

The bulk of the Mets' starting rotation has been depleted this winter, and pulling off a trade and extending Gallen is one way to get a leg up and avoid the fierce bidding wars with every team looking for top-tier starting pitching this winter.

If the Mets can stomach parting ways with Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams, or Drew Gilbert, they can certainly come up with the proper package for Gallen. They also have all-around-the-diamond Ronny Mauricio coming back from injury. After narrowly missing the World Series this year, expect the Mets to be aggressive and explore all avenues to improve at the major league level.

2. Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are at the place where they finished 2024 with a record that was better than expected earlier in the season. Mainly due to a strong rotation, which finished 5th in the AL with a 3.81 ERA, the Sox finished an even .500 and need to make a splash if they hope to continue an upward trajectory.

That rotation is now projected as Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, Garret Whitlock, and Lucas Giolito, who missed last season and has gone downhill in recent years.

Boston has enough of a farm to pull off a deal with Arizona, who, if the price is right, may be happy to ship Gallen to the AL instead of to an NL counterpart. On paper, he's a fantastic addition to Boston, and he pairs nicely with Houck and Crawford.

1. Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have reached a point where it may be do or die for Team President Jed Hoyer to deliver a postseason appearance to the city. Chairman Tom Ricketts has gone on record stating he is not looking to extend Hoyer before the start of the 2025 season, his contract year, but instead, see how next season plays out, and go from there.

You can credit Hoyer for building the most robust farm system in baseball. The Cubs have eight top-100 prospects (Pipeline), which leads all of MLB. With Cody Bellinger opting in, he'll presumably play RF, while Seiya Suzuki sticks at DH for now.

Consider Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ian Happ in the outfield mix, along with third baseman Isaac Parades, shortstop Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner at 2B, and Michael Busch at 1B, there isn't a clear path for any positional prospects in the Cubs system, outside of catcher Moises Ballesteros, who can slide into an everyday playing role.

That means No. 22 prospect Matt Shaw, No. 34 Owen Caissie, No. 55 James Triantos, No. 67 Kevin Alcantara, No. 73 Cam Smith, and No. 99 Jefferson Rojas could be available. Smith and Rojas aren't quite MLB-ready, but all of Shaw, Caissie, Triantos, Alcantara, and Ballesteros are at Triple-A and performed exceptionally this season.

Hoyer has all the pieces necessary to pull off a blockbuster without depleting the farm. Gallen is the perfect fallback option if they miss on Roki Sasaki or if a trade with Seattle doesn't come to fruition.