The Arizona Diamondbacks recently got some tough news when it was announced that free agent signee Merrill Kelly would be sidelined to open up the 2026 season due to a back injury. Kelly signed with the Diamondbacks this offseason, reuniting him with the team that he helped lead to the World Series back in 2023.
Now, more information has come to light on the team's contingency plan with Kelly currently out of the lineup.
“Zac Gallen will start Opening Day,” reported Steve Gilbert of MLB.com on X, formerly Twitter.
Gallen, of course, is a reliable presence for the Diamondbacks, having been with the team since the 2019 season, making an All-Star team back in 2023 during the team's miraculous run to the World Series.
The team also recently got an optimistic outlook on Kelly's availability from manager Torey Lovullo.
“It looked like everything was coming out OK,” Lovullo said of Kelly's recent reps at a live batting session, per Gilbert. “He was able to get on the mound. No setbacks or limitations between pitches, so I feel like things went well. I asked the people in back of me what his velo was and it was 90 mph, up to 93 mph, so that’s pretty normal. The stuff looked sharp.”
The Diamondbacks are hoping to make the playoffs this year for the first time since that 2023 run, which ended with a tough loss at the hands of the Texas Rangers in the World Series.
Arizona will get its 2026 campaign underway with a road series against the Los Angeles Dodgers later this month.
