As the New York Mets begin to posture for the trade deadline, starting pitching is going to be at the forefront of the club's potential needs. ESPN insider Jeff Passan feels like he has the perfect option to get a Mets rotation that's fallen off since mid-June back on the right track. That would be veteran Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen, who could be moved if Arizona falls far enough out of the playoff race. But Gallen's fit goes beyond his ability as he's already displayed one other crucial attribute: He also hates the Philadelphia Phillies.
Back in 2023, when Gallen and the Diamondbacks were en route to an NL pennant and a tough World Series loss to the Rangers, the right-hander seemingly had no love for a city he grew up right outside of, Philadelphia. And after Arizona picked up the Game 7 win in the NLCS over the Phillies, Gallen took to Twitter and delivered an absolutely ruthless shot to Phillies fans.
Make sure to get those tix for your next game pic.twitter.com/NTiXGZDTud
— Zac Gallen (@zacgallen23) October 25, 2023
Telling Phillies fans to enjoy their next game in spring training after helping eliminate them from the postseason? Oh yeah, Zac Gallen already has a home in Queens.
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Zac Gallen's Phillies hate makes him an even more perfect Mets trade target
Now, it's worth noting that Gallen hasn't looked like himself this season, which is the last year of his deal before he hits free agency. His ERA has climbed up to 5.15 on the year with a 1.345 WHIP. At the same time, the D'Backs would still be inclined to move him to avoid losing him on the open market for nothing. And his history, plus his recent results, could entice the Mets plenty to bolster a rotation that dominated early in the season, but has since fallen back a bit.
Prior to this season, Gallen has been a bonafide ace for the Diamondbacks. Over 93 starts across the last three seasons, Gallen has posted a 3.20 ERA with a 1.089 WHIP. More importantly, the underlying numbers, namely a 3.22 FIP, indicates that he's not been getting lucky, but has actually been that good.
Furthermore, despite the poor season, Gallen has started to regain his previous form. In two starts to begin July so far, Gallen has gone 13 innings allowing just 10 hits and one walk along with just one earned run (though two unearned runs did come across). That's good for an 0.69 ERA over that small sample size, a sign he might be regressing positively back to his mean.
With injuries racking up throughout the season to the likes of Griffin Canning, Kodai Senga and others, the Mets need another reliable arm to shore up this rotation, especially since the starting pitchers' ERA has gone from being in the 2s from the first 2.5 months of the year to over 5.00 in the past four weeks. Gallen, especially if the Mets believe that the positive regression will continue, could be that guy.
And the fact that they don't even have to teach him to hate the Phillies, that make it an even more obvious match with New York.