Zac Gallen isn’t going to have to move.
The right-handed pitcher, arguably the best left on the free agent market, has agreed to a one-year contract worth about $22 million to return to the Diamondbacks, noti.group’s Jon Heyman confirmed.
Per Heyman, the 30-year-old received multiyear offers but liked the idea of staying with Arizona.
The Athletic reported that the deal contains about $14 million in deferred payments.
The deal ends a long free agency for the 2023 National League All-Star after he rejected a $22.025 million qualifying offer in November, which is, ironically, about how much he’ll make in 2026 anyway.
The qualifying offer attachment meant that if a different team had signed Gallen, it would have had to forfeit draft picks, with Arizona getting awarded draft compensation.
The Orioles, before signing Chris Bassitt earlier this week, were interested in Gallen, Heyman reported in January.
The Cubs, Padres and Angels were among the other teams interested in his services.
But it’s Arizona he goes back to, a place he’s pitched the last seven seasons.
On Feb. 3, Gallen expressed an interest in returning to the Diamondbacks.
“It’s been humbling,” Gallen told reporters at the WM Phoenix Open. “That’s kind of been the constant thing the last couple of weeks. People have been like, ‘Hey, we’d really love for you to come back.’ I think people understand what Phoenix means to me.
“My wife is from here, I’m calling this home base now, so for us to be here would be awesome.”
Acquired by the Diamondbacks at the 2019 trade deadline from the Marlins for Jazz Chisholm Jr., he quickly established himself as a reliable arm at the top of the rotation, receiving Cy Young votes in three different seasons.
He had a strong three-year stretch from 2022-24 with a 3.20 ERA and 568 strikeouts over 542 innings.
But 2025 saw a dip in production with a career-worst 4.83 ERA.
Gallen’s peripherals weren’t great either, with his strikeout rate dropping from 25.1 percent in 2025 to 21.5 percent in ’25.
Still, he’s pitched over 180 innings three times over the last four years and should help solidify Arizona’s rotation as it tries to keep pace in the NL West.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
