It feels like the Chicago Cubs and Zac Gallen have been connected ever since the offseason began for the Northsiders. There was the ‘report’ by Bob Nightengale that the two sides are close to an agreement before being quickly corrected.
Since then, Gallen has yet to sign and the Cubs missed out on Tatsuya Imai who went to the Houston Astros. So now, it’s time for the Cubs to pivot and Gallen appears to still be an option.
Will the Cubs look at Zac Gallen?
Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen (23) pitches against the Cleveland Guardians at Chase Field on Aug. 19, 2025.
After failing to sign Imai, the Cubs and Gallen are once again being connected. This week, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand suggested the Cubs look at Gallen. And now, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic is also bringing up Gallen and the Cubs once again.
As the Cubs pivot, they can continue their dialogue with Imai’s agent, Scott Boras, who also represents Zac Gallen, a free agent who has been repeatedly linked to Chicago this offseason.
Although Gallen is coming off a down year (13-15, 4.83 ERA), he factored into the National League Cy Young Award voting in 2020, 2022 and 2023, when he helped lead the Arizona Diamondbacks into the World Series. Gallen’s durability — he averaged 30 starts a year over the past five seasons — is also appealing.
Gallen has had a down year as Mooney wrote. He had a sub-3 ERA back in 2022 and then followed it up with seasons of 3.47 ERA and 3.65 ERA. He’s been a staple in the Diamondbacks’ rotation for the past few years and was a big reason why they made a World Series run a few years back.
The idea of adding Gallen isn’t a bad one for the Cubs who need help in the rotation. But does it solve a big problem for the long term? Probably not.
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