The Arizona Diamondbacks and right-hander Zac Gallen finalized a one-year reunion valued at $22.025 million after the 30-year-old declined November's qualifying offer and tested free agency. The guarantee matches the qualifying offer figure, but $14 million will be deferred in five $2.8 million installments from 2031-35, leaving the Diamondbacks responsible for just over $8 million in 2026 salary. The contract carries an $18.7 million competitive balance tax number.
Speaking Sunday, Gallen acknowledged misjudging the market, per Alex D'Agostino of Sports Illustrated.
“We felt like we wanted to take a gamble (in free agency)… We got to a point where it was like, ‘Okay, it's time to cut our losses,'” said Gallen. “For us, we were comfortable with where we were at. As players, we're fortunate enough to make the amount of money we do already, so I think getting greedy in that sense was kind of silly.”
Zac Gallen on why he took an equivalent one-year deal after turning down the Qualifying Offer.
“As players, we’re fortunate enough to make the amount of money we do already, so I think getting greedy in that sense was kind of silly.” pic.twitter.com/Wx5OL44ZS1
— Alex D’Agostino (@AlexDagAZ) February 15, 2026
Performance trends explain the muted market. Gallen made all 33 starts in 2025 but finished with a career-worst 4.83 ERA and 21.5% strikeout rate. He carried a 5.40 ERA into the All-Star break and a 5.60 clip through 127 innings at the trade deadline, when Arizona dealt Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, Merrill Kelly, and Shelby Miller. He found a second wind with a 3.32 ERA over his final 65 innings, producing eight quality starts in his last 11 outings as the team went 7-4 in those games, remaining in the Wild Card race until the final weekend. Still, he struck out only 20% of hitters in that period and benefited from a .232 batting average on balls in play.
His underlying metrics suggested he pitched better than the surface numbers indicated, with a 4.28 expected ERA and a 4.24 SIERA. His fastball averaged 93.5 mph, near his career norm, though opponents have fared better against it in recent seasons. He recorded a 2.54 ERA in 2022 and ERAs in the mid-3.00s in 2023 and 2024, striking out a career-best 220 batters in 2023. Over 93 starts from 2022-24, he compiled a 3.20 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate.
The Diamondbacks do not surrender draft compensation to re-sign their own qualified free agent, whereas another club would have forfeited at least one pick. Gallen will reenter the market next winter without draft-pick compensation attached, as a player can receive the qualifying offer only once in his career.
