Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Zac Gallen

Zac Gallen has had an interesting career to watch unfold over the past decade, experiencing many ups and downs.

Throughout the 2020s, Gallen earned the reputation of being a strong starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Since they traded for him from the Miami Marlins in 2019, Gallen has finished in the top 10 of NL Cy Young voting three times and has been a quality innings eater in a strong division. He was a key piece of the team that made a run to the World Series in 2023 before losing to the Rangers.

Things started to go wrong in 2025, when Gallen posted an ERA of 4.83 and an fWAR of 1.2. Following that season, he hit free agency for the first time and ultimately re-signed with the Diamondbacks on a one-year deal even after rejecting their qualifying offer.  

In 2026, things went from bad to worse for Gallen, as he continued to decline. He posted career worsts in several stats, including ERA (6.07), FIP (5.34), and WHIP (1.547).

Not only did Gallen struggle on the field, but he also missed about two months with an elbow injury. It’s fair to say that nothing went to plan for him in 2026. For a Diamondbacks team that narrowly missed the postseason, a healthy and effective Zac Gallen probably would have moved the needle.

Gallen will reenter free agency this winter as a 31-year-old attempting to rediscover his peak abilities. He won’t be anyone’s first option in free agency, but with the market for starting pitchers being relatively thin this offseason, there will likely be some suitors for him despite his recent struggles.  

Free Agent Profile:

• Age in 2027: 31
• 2026 Stats: 22 G, 20 GS, 6.07 ERA, 5.34 FIP, 1.547 WHIP, 5.5 K/9
• 2026 Salary: $22.025 million
• Qualifying Offer Eligible: No

Contract Projection:

• Contract Length Expectation: 1 year
• Estimated AAV: $8-13 million

Many of Gallen’s struggles this past year can likely be attributed to his career-low strikeout rate. At his best, he was striking out over 10 batters per 9 innings, but his figure of 5.5 in 2026 is nearly half that. He was in the first percentile for K% in 2026 (13.6%), and his whiff rate was in the seventh percentile (19%). Those numbers come even as he was getting more swings out of the zone than in any season since 2022.

Gallen has almost always given up hard contact but was usually able to overcome it through swings and misses. When his swing-and-miss stuff vanished, causing him to deal with more baserunners, he became more susceptible to offenses putting up big numbers on him.

In addition to getting fewer whiffs, Gallen also gave up 1.6 HR/9, which was more than ever before in his career. Teams were able to ambush his fastball early in counts, forcing him to use his off-speed pitches more than ever before.

Despite these numbers, some signs point toward the fact that Gallen might be able to recover. His fastball velocity is still roughly the same as it has been throughout the rest of his career, just as his movement profiles on his pitches are still similar. If a team can diagnose where Gallen’s problems are coming from, there are still building blocks for Gallen to work from.

Even though Gallen had a rough 2026, there is still a good pitcher in there somewhere. His sustained success between 2020 and 2024 was incredible, and the hope that he will be able to recover that level is going to make him money this offseason.

If Gallen can recover his prior form, he might push the needle for a contender to reach its expectations, or he could net a rebuilding team a quality prospect at the deadline.

Even if Gallen doesn’t return to form, he will still be a candidate to eat innings at the bottom of a rotation. The financial commitment required to bring him in is likely minimal, especially since a one-year deal is probable, so some teams might find him worth the gamble.

Free Agent Landing Spots for Zac Gallen

Chicago Cubs

The 2026 Chicago Cubs had a season containing a large divide between their hitting and pitching. Per FanGraphs, while the Cubs scored more runs than any other team and finished first in batting WAR, they finished 28^th in the league in pitching WAR.

Much of that might have been due to injuries. Justin Steele, Cade Horton, Porter Hodge, and Ben Brown all missed time throughout the course of the season. But a team with World Series aspirations must be better on the mound than the Cubs were this past season.

Many of the Cubs’ pitching injuries are expected to linger into 2027, and their best pitchers might miss more time. If that is the case, the Cubs might want to bet on Gallen. If he works out, they find a top-end starter for relatively cheap. If he doesn’t, they can cut bait when their best arms return from injury.

The Cubs were among the best teams in baseball at hitting and fielding last season and have a strong argument that they were the best in both facets. They are World Series contenders if they find a way to address their pitching staff. Gallen won’t be a priority signing for them compared to other free agent arms, but he could be a second or third addition to the staff, bringing high upside.

Cincinnati Reds

This offseason will be interesting, and pivotal, for the Reds. They have an elite hitter in Elly De La Cruz and further quality in Sal Stewart to build a team from. Teams have pursued Elly in trade talks, but it’s hard to imagine the Reds moving off a superstar shortstop with three years of control left.

However, if the Reds are going to keep De La Cruz, they need to make the most of the time that they have him for. That means addressing their starting rotation.

Chase Burns is the Reds’ ace of the present and the future. He broke out in a big way in 2026, and the Reds signed him through 2033. After Burns, the rotation looks bleak.

Hunter Greene is expected to miss the entirety of the 2027 season with another Tommy John surgery, and both Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo took a large step back after great 2025 seasons.

Given that the Reds are unlikely to spend serious money this offseason, and that they play in the gauntlet that is the NL Central, Gallen is a candidate for them to take a risk on in hopes he will help them compete ahead of schedule and in the short term.

The Reds right now are not a playoff team, but Gallen is a starter they can target in free agency to try to speed up their process and keep things exciting while they employ one of the better players in baseball.

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are looking to continue contending for the playoffs after having made the postseason for the past three seasons.

Currently, the Padres are retaining precious little of their 2026 rotation. The Padres declined Nick Pivetta’s team option, Michael King declined his player option, and trade-deadline rentals Robbie Ray and Casey Mize are also free agents.

FanGraphs currently projects Joe Musgrove to be San Diego’s “ace”, even though he missed the entirety of the 2025 and 2026 regular seasons before returning in the 2026 playoffs. The Padres clearly have work to do rebuilding their rotation for the future.

If the Padres are going to continue to compete next season with the amount of pitching they have to replace, they will have to hit a home run in player development, a trade, or free agency. Zac Gallen could be one of the pieces helping the Friars to continue to contend if he returns anywhere close to peak form.

Baltimore Orioles

Over the past few years, Mike Elias, the Orioles’ GM, has consistently signed veteran starters to short-term deals rather than committing money to pitchers over the long term. Examples include Chris Bassitt, Zach Eflin, and Charlie Morton. Even after trading for Corbin Burnes in a blockbuster move, Elias didn’t shell out the money to retain him for the long haul.

Elias clearly favors the approach of acquiring veteran starters to attempt to stabilize the rotation, and Gallen would fit that mold of signing for the O’s.

The Orioles have Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz under contract for next season as their front-end starters, and Brandon Young projects to be a decent depth arm. After that, there are more questions than answers. Gallen could help address their need to fill out the bottom of their rotation, while also being one of their better starters if he performs to his previous standards.

Like the Padres, the Orioles need many things to go right to compete in 2027. They disappointed heavily in 2026 and play in the toughest division in the American League. Signing Gallen and helping him find his best self would go a long way to making the Orioles competitive.