After months of waiting, the final notable free agent came off the board on Friday night as Zac Gallen inked a one-year deal to return to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The deal is worth $22.05 million, the exact value of the qualifying offer Gallen rejected back in November, and $14 million of the deal was deferred.
Yes, Gallen's market was so lackluster that he took a one-year deal and won't even receive most of the money from that contract until years down the line. Sure, teams did try to give Gallen multi-year deals, so there's a good chance Gallen turned down more money than he got, but these teams will come to regret letting the right-hander sign such a team-friendly deal with Arizona.
Los Angeles Angels
There was no indication that the Los Angeles Angels were even considering signing Zac Gallen, but with how his market played out, they should've made a move. I can understand not wanting to give up a draft pick in the Angels' position, especially on a one-year deal, but Gallen likely would've accepted a multi-year deal at the right price. The Angels should've met that asking price.
Would this have been a risk? Absolutely. Gallen is coming off a very down year, which is why he wasn't generating much interest in free agency to begin with. There's a real chance Gallen never reverts to the Cy Young-caliber pitcher he was in 2023. What do the Angels have to lose, though?
They haven't made the playoffs since 2014 and haven't finished a season with a winning record since 2015. If Gallen didn't pitch well, it's not as if he'd have broken the bank financially, and the Angels are unlikely to be competitive regardless. If Gallen did pitch well, though, he could've helped get them closer to a postseason berth. The Angels are already taking risks on the likes of Grayson Rodriguez, Reid Detmers and Alek Manoah in their rotation. I could argue that signing Gallen would've been a risk worth taking more than any of the others.
San Diego Padres
It's been abundantly clear all winter that the San Diego Padres don't have much money to spend this winter, but Gallen didn't wind up costing all that much. Yes, $22.05 million is a big number, but again, $14 million of that was deferred. The Padres could've gotten him for less than $10 million this season. That had to have been doable for a team trying to win now.
Whether the Padres believed Gallen would bounce back or not, they had to have thought of him as an upgrade over the back end of their rotation, right? I mean, look at their projected Opening Day rotation.
Padres Rotation Order | Name |
|---|---|
1 | Michael King |
2 | Nick Pivetta |
3 | Joe Musgrove |
4 | Randy Vasquez |
5 | JP Sears |
You can't tell me the Padres wouldn't have had room for Gallen when they're projected to start both Randy Vasquez and JP Sears. Plus, injury concerns revolving around Michael King and Joe Musgrove are very clear. Adding Gallen's durability and upside could've really changed things in San Diego. Instead, the right-hander re-signed with a division rival.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros weren't really linked to Gallen much at all, but I'm not sure why. Their rotation is also in rough shape.
Astros Rotation Order | Starter |
|---|---|
1 | Hunter Brown |
2 | Cristian Javier |
3 | Tatsuya Imai |
4 | Lance McCullers Jr. |
5 | Mike Burrows |
6 | Ryan Weiss |
Hunter Brown is one of the best pitchers in the sport, but I have questions about everyone else in this rotation. Durability, in particular, is a concern, when realizing that Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. have combined to make 31 appearances and 28 starts since the beginning of 2024. Gallen, for reference, made 33 starts in 2025 and has made 28 or more starts in each of the last four years.
Sure, the Astros, much like the Padres, don't have much money to spend this winter, but they just cleared $6.8 million by trading Jesus Sanchez for Joey Loperfido on Friday. That would've covered most of what Arizona is paying Gallen this season. The Astros could have, and should have, made this work, if they are serious about competing in 2026.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves were in a tougher spot than the teams above because of what the qualifying offer penalty would entail. For them to sign Gallen, they would've had to give up the 26th overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft. Is doing so worthwhile? You can really argue no. Still, it's hard to take the Braves seriously as contenders when they're letting Gallen end up elsewhere when he signed a one-year deal that the Braves could've done rather easily.
To say the Braves need a starter would be an understatement. They needed one before Spencer Schwellenbach's injury. Now, the situation feels dire. Yes, they still have a good rotation on paper even without Schwellenbach when healthy, but can we trust anyone in their rotation to stay healthy? I mean, Bryce Elder was the only starter to make more than 23 starts for Atlanta last season, and he had a 5.30 ERA in his 28 starts.
The durability concerns with Atlanta's rotation are impossible to ignore, and while the team has some depth, it's clear the Braves need more than they have. Gallen was the last really interesting starter left on the free agency market. Perhaps the Braves will pivot to a guy like Lucas Giolito who won't cost as much money and won't require the forfiture of any draft capital, but until they actually add meaningful starting pitching depth, it's easy to criticize Alex Anthopoulos for not taking advantage of a suppressed Gallen market.
Baltimore Orioles
I don't necessarily blame the Baltimore Orioles for signing Chris Bassitt over Zac Gallen, valuing Bassitt's reliability and not giving up a draft pick over giving up the draft pick and a bit more of a risk with Gallen, but I would've signed Gallen over Bassitt because the Orioles need more upside in their rotation.
Bassitt can and likely will eat innings for this team, which is valuable, but Gallen has thrown at least 148 innings in each of the last four seasons and 184 innings in three of the last four years. He's shown an ability to eat innings as well, and he's also received Cy Young votes twice in that four-year span. He was a finalist for the award in 2023. Bassitt is a mid-rotation starter, and Gallen's ceiling is much higher.
This Orioles' rotation has some upside with Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish, and perhaps Shane Baz can take a leap after getting traded to the O's, but it could use another frontline arm. I'd hesitate to call Gallen that, but he was the last option left after Framber Valdez came off the board. Again, the Bassitt deal wasn't bad, but Gallen would've been a better get, and wouldn't have cost much more money.