PHOENIX — Right-hander Zac Gallen has agreed to a $22,025,000, one-year contract to return to the Arizona Diamondbacks, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed Friday night.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending a physical.
The 2023 All-Star, a client of agent Scott Boras, was seeking a multi-year contract, but after nothing acceptable materialized, he's coming back to the desert where he's spent the majority of his big league's career.
MLB.com first reported Gallen and the D-backs were close to a deal. The value of the contract is equal to the qualifying offer that Gallen turned down in November after he become a free agent. He was the last player to reach a deal among the nine free agents who had turned down qualifying offers.
Gallen had his worst season in the big leagues in 2025, finishing with 13-15 record with a 4.83 ERA and an 8.2 strikeout rate per nine innings, the lowest of his career. But his velocity was still good and he performed better after the All-Star break with a 3.97 ERA over his final 13 starts. He had a $13.5 million salary.
The 30-year-old was one of the best pitchers in the National League from 2022-24, finishing fifth in the Cy Young Award voting in 2022 and third in 2023.
He was the ace for the D-backs in 2023, going 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA, as they made a surprise run to the World Series before losing in five games to the Texas Rangers.
Gallen was selected in the third round of the 2016 amateur 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 is 66-52 with a 3.58 ERA in seven major league seasons.
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