Zac Gallen gets $76M deal despite Diamondbacks' tough year

Billy Heyen

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Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen gets $76 million contract update despite rough season image

Zac Gallen is a free agent test case.

Do interested teams trust his track record with the Arizona Diamondbacks? Or do they worry about his rough 2025 season in the desert?

The reality, of course, is that there might be a little of both.

In the end, though, Gallen will likely get paid nicely. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel projects him to get a four-year deal worth $76 million.

"Gallen regressed a bit this year (4.83 ERA) after a sterling three-year run from 2022 to 2024 (cumulative 3.20 ERA, seventh-best pitcher WAR in baseball)," McDaniel writes. "There isn't a clear explanation, but a lot of it can be chalked up to bad ball-in-play luck after he was largely lucky on balls in play from 2022 to 2024. The biggest regression was with his curveball, while his slider and cutter also performed worse but his fastball and changeup performed better. I read that as a combination of location/sequence tweaking and positive regression can take Gallen back to the 2024 version of himself next season. That would mean an ERA in the high 3s and strong bulk innings, making him a valuable No. 3 starter for the next few years at least."

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How the Diamondbacks themselves approach Gallen could be telling. He was in their building, so they know more about what was going on with him than anyone else.

If Arizona is willing to shell out a contract like the one McDaniel outlines, it probably points to the Diamondbacks believing Gallen can look more like his old self going forward.

If the DBacks stay away, maybe it signals some real concern.

Either way, though, Gallen is at worst an innings eater with age still on his side. And if he can regress positively to the mean, he could end up being a bargain signing for whoever takes a chance on the talented right-hander.

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Staff Writer