PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — The Milkman is reportedly coming back to the desert.
According to multiple reports, veteran pitcher Zac Gallen is returning to the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2026 season. It’s on a one-year, $22 million deal, which matches the price of the qualifying offer that Gallen previously rejected, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
MLB.com first reported that Gallen and the D-backs were close to a deal.
The 2023 All-Star — who is a client of agent Scott Boras — was hunting for a multi-year contract, but after nothing acceptable materialized, decided to come back to Arizona.
Deal is for $22.025M, value of qualifying offer Gallen rejected, per source.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 14, 2026
The 30-year-old right-hander has spent nearly all of his MLB career with the Snakes. Gallen was traded to the D-backs in 2019 and in 2022, he went 12-4 with a 2.54 ERA, finishing fifth in the NL Cy Young voting.
The next year, he helped Arizona get the World Series for the first time since 2001. He pitched six no-hit innings in Game 5 but the D-backs lost the series. Gallen finished third in NL Cy Young voting and was named an MLB All-Star.
He was Arizona’s Opening Day starter from 2023 to 2025. But last year was one he’d like to forget, finishing the year with a record of 13-15 and career-worsts with a 4.83 ERA and an 8.2 strikeout rate per nine innings.
The Diamondbacks made a late-season push last year for a playoff spot, where Gallen finished with eight quality starts in his final 11 outings, including a 3.32 ERA during his last 65 innings. However, the Snakes fell short of a Wild Card berth.
Gallen was drafted in the third round of the 2016 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals after playing in college at North Carolina. He was traded to the Marlins in 2017 and made his big-league debut with the organization in 2019 before being traded again to the D-backs in a deal that sent Jazz Chisholm Jr. to Miami.
Overall, Gallen has a 66-52 record and 3.58 ERA in seven MLB seasons.
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