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Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks
The Chicago Cubs have been one of the biggest winners of the MLB offseason thus far, but there have been rumblings that Jed Hoyer and company might not be done.
After trading for Edward Cabrera to bolster the starting rotation and signing star free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, the Cubs are looking the part of a legitimate World Series contender. If Hoyer can add another splash move, things would look even brighter.
With that in mind, free agent starting pitcher Zac Gallen has been connected to Chicago since the beginning of the offseason.
Gallen remains a free agent. He has received quite a bit of interest and is one of the best players still available in free agency. Could the Cubs circle back around and improve their rotation even more?
A new prediction has been revealed about Gallen’s future.
Will the Chicago Cubs End Up Signing Zac Gallen?
Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly has revealed where he believes Gallen wil sign. He has the veteran pitcher re-signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“The Diamondbacks would likely be ecstatic if someone signs Gallen, because they would get draft-pick compensation in return. But they would also be losing someone who, even in a down year, logged 192 innings last season,” Kelly wrote.
“Arizona could sign Gallen for 2026, and if they aren’t in contention in the summer, flip him for a return.”
Heading back to the Diamondbacks has always made sense for both parties. Signing with Chicago would have made sense prior to the Cabrera trade. Now, there would be legitimate reason for concern that he wouldn’t crack the rotation.
At this point in time, the Cubs are projected to feature a rotation of Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton, and Matthew Boyd. Justin Steele is also expected to return from injury at some point in the first half of the season.
Gallen could still choose to sign with Chicago, but that seems much more unlikely at this point in time than it did at the beginning of the offseason.
Taking a Look at Zac Gallen’s MLB Career
Now 30 years old, Gallen has had a good MLB career. He has been a Cy Young candidate on multiple occasions.
Throughout his 176 career starts, Gallen has compiled a 66-52 record to go along with a 3.58 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, a 3.3 K/BB ratio, and 1,007.1 innings pitched.
Last season, the veteran starter had a bit of a down year. He only went 13-15 in 33 starts and recorded a 3.83 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, a 2.7 K/BB ratio, and 192 innings of work completed. Those numbers were not close to what he was targeting.
Heading back for another season in Arizona would give him a chance to finish what he started. Perhaps he can help lead the Diamondbacks to winning, or at the very least improve his value ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
Only time will tell, but the Cubs’ fan base should start preparing for the likelihood that he will pass on bringing his talents to Chicago.
Evan Massey Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst located in Indianapolis, Indiana who covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. He has been featured on many publications, including Newsweek, Athlon Sports, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, and many others. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son. More about Evan Massey
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