The Toronto Blue Jays are in an interesting spot. Their fifth straight win against the New York Yankees improved their record to 59-41 on the year and increased their AL East division lead to 4.0 games over the Bronx Bombers. They're exceeding expectations, but it feels as if they're a huge trade deadline away from being considered true World Series contenders. Another Zac Gallen dud made their goal of putting together that huge deadline tougher to pull off.
Astros top prospect Brice Matthews’ first career homer is a go-ahead three run bomb off Zac Gallen! pic.twitter.com/rA0WrW8p4B
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 22, 2025
Gallen allowed six runs in six innings of work on Monday night. He managed to throw three straight scoreless innings after allowing four early runs, but the Houston Astros tacked on two more on Brice Matthews' second home run of the night.
The Jays need starting pitching, and Gallen would make a lot of sense for them in the position they're in, but should the Jays really be pursuing him? It's worth asking this question after another blow-up.
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Zac Gallen is pitching himself out of Toronto
In 21 starts this season, Gallen has a 5.58 ERA in 121 innings of work. His FIP would suggest he's gotten unlucky, but all of his advanced metrics look bad, and it's hard to like much of what Gallen has brought this season.
His walk rate is as high as it's been since 2021, his home run rate is as high as it's ever been, and his strikeout rate is as low as it's ever been. This is not a good combination. Additionally, Gallen entered the day ranked last in ERA and fWAR among 63 qualified starting pitchers. His numbers only took a turn for the worst after this outing.
Gallen has now allowed six runs in back-to-back starts, and he's given up four or more earned runs in 10 of his last 13 outings. He's allowed four or more earned runs in 13 of his 21 outings overall. His performance has been nothing short of awful all season long.
Again, is Gallen worth trading for at this point?
Zac Gallen's struggles make Blue Jays trade deadline plans that much tougher
What made Gallen intriguing for the Jays was the fact that they'd be buying low. He's on an expiring contract and hasn't pitched well, so the Arizona Diamondbacks can't expect that much in return, but his track record could convince a team like the Blue Jays that pitching coach Pete Walker can help unlock him. Well, Gallen's continued struggles should, and likely do, pour cold water on any team thinking he's worth acquiring for this season.
If the Jays aren't trading for Gallen, who should they be targeting on the starting pitching front? They could pursue pitchers with club control like Mitch Keller or Sandy Alcantara, but that'd probably be too pricey for a Jays team that, again, has overachieved. They could pursue Gallen's teammate, Merrill Kelly, who is on an expiring contract and has pitched well, but his price should also be quite high for a rental. There's a good chance that the Jays will have to part with some of the few good prospects they have in a merely average at best farm system in order to get impactful starting pitching.
The Jays might decide to take a risk and try to buy low on Gallen. At this point, his price can't get much lower, so it'd be hard to blame them too much. With that being said, anyone expecting Gallen to revert to his Cy Young form this season is simply dreaming at this point. His struggles have made an already tricky deadline that much tougher for Ross Atkins.