SCOTTSDALE — Zac Gallen knew the writing was on the wall that a return to Arizona was unlikely once his longtime teammate and friend Merrill Kelly re-upped with the Diamondbacks in December.

The two pitchers were together in Mexico at Alek Thomas’ wedding when the news broke, and they “had conversations, somewhat joking and somewhat not, that he expected not to be here,” Kelly said on Sunday.

Against the odds, Gallen is a Diamondback again, which was made official on Sunday. It took some creativity, as Gallen took a one-year deal with most of the money deferred to make it happen.

Gallen, one of the league’s most productive pitchers from 2022-24 before a down year in 2025, said he had multiyear offers on the table. He opted to return to a comfortable place and bet on having a better season before entering free agency again.

“We did have multiyear offers out there, which was nice from the security standpoint,” Gallen said. “I’ve always kind of bet on myself.

“I think I felt like I owed it to myself, owed to my family. I even owed it to the organization, the fans here, to come back, have a good year and prove my worth again and get that little added motivation. So that’s where my thought was, and see what happens again next year.”

Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen said he had multi-year offers on the table, but “I’ve always bet on myself.” pic.twitter.com/RhhroIKoc8

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) February 15, 2026

Gallen was operating from a weakened position this winter.

With a 3.34 ERA from 2020-24, Gallen worked a 4.83 ERA in his walk year after a disastrous first four months. He turned his season around in August, but the final numbers were not flattering. The D-backs presented him the qualifying offer, which would have cost another club draft picks had it signed Gallen.

The 30-year-old claimed he was not frustrated by the experience given the reality of the situation.

“I had a coach at a young age that would say great players are even better self-evaluators,” Gallen said. “Going into this free agency, like I could look myself in the mirror. … We wanted to make sure we were going somewhere good for us from a standpoint of family environment, what’s comfortable and also somewhere I could continue getting better.”

He signed a deal worth the qualifying offer at $22.05 million, but only $8 million will be paid this year. The deferred money will be paid out over five years starting in Year 6, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro, lowering its ultimate value.

“The cash we’re spending on Zac this year is more modest than would have been the money we would have spent had there been a qualifying offer acceptance,” owner Ken Kendrick said on Sunday. “For us, it’s more financially manageable. I think we’re both happy with the other.”

Gallen will be able to pick up where he left off with Arizona pitching coach Brian Kaplan and catchers Gabriel Moreno and James McCann, the latter of whom he found a rhythm with down the stretch. The veteran pitcher ended the year with a 3.32 ERA over his final 11 games.

Zac Gallen returns to Diamondbacks camp

Gallen missed the first five days of camp, as Diamondbacks pitchers and catchers reported on Tuesday. Manager Torey Lovullo said Gallen has already been throwing bullpens, so the club will work him in. Gallen was on the field with his teammates for fielding drills on Sunday.

Getting to spring training before missing too much time was important, as Gallen said holding out longer for a few extra dollars may be “cutting off my nose to spite my face.”

When asked whether he regretted declining the qualifying offer at the start of the winter, Gallen said he knew going into free agency was a gamble and it was worth taking, that “We’re fortunate to make the amount of money we do already.”

In the end, he gets to redo his walk year while adding depth to a Diamondbacks rotation that entered the offseason in need of stability.

“I look at it this way in a positive, going back to talking about Merrill, we joked that it might only be one of us, and now we get both of us,” Gallen said. “So I’ll take it as a positive that way. And it gives me, I wouldn’t say it’s a motivational thing. It’s more of a recentering.”

Gallen did not get his old locker at Salt River Fields back, saying he was happy to defer it to the guy with a mantle of Platinum Gloves (Nolan Arenado). Instead, he is next to Kelly, just like at Chase Field.

Merrill Kelly on the return of Zac Gallen:

“That’s my locker mate for the last seven years. That’s the guy I golf with on the road. And obviously, what he brings to the team, what he brings to the rotation means a lot.” pic.twitter.com/iXCqAtoyH0

— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) February 15, 2026