Yankees’ perfect trade offer for Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen

The New York Yankees are navigating a path toward the World Series, and perhaps they will try to add a pitcher who seems to be in trade demand. And here is the Yankees’ perfect offer for Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen.

Right now, the Yankees have a sturdy pitching rotation. That’s true even with Max Fried on the injured list. Gerrit Cole is back, and Cam Schlittler has been dealing all season. Carlos Rodon and Ryan Weathers are also in the mix.

But adding a veteran arm like Gallen might fit well into the Yankees’ postseason plans.

What would SP Zac Gallen bring to the Yankees?

An eighth-year veteran, Gallen won 43 games between 2022 and 2024. He also had a 2.54 ERA in 2022 and struck out 220 batters in 2023.

However, Gallen slipped to 13-15 last season with an ERA of 4.83. And it has been even worse this year. He’s 3-6 with an unsightly 6.10 ERA despite leading the major leagues in games started. Another alarming stat is his 52 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings. Yuck.

Kind of makes you wonder why teams want to trade for him. But he’s an under-the-radar trade target, according to The Athletic.

“The Diamondbacks didn’t trade Gallen at last year’s trade deadline and ended up re-signing him to a one-year contract after he wasn’t able to secure the long-term commitment he was looking for on the open market,” Jim Bowden wrote. “He’s had an up-and-down year for Arizona. However, a change of scenery might be just what the doctor ordered to try and turn his career back in the direction it was just three years ago, when he started the All-Star Game for the National League.”

That’s an optimistic outlook.

Gallen seemed to attribute his struggles to bad luck. At least that was his assessment of his 12-hit, nine-run debacle against the Twins recently, according to azcentral.com.

“I looked it up a few minutes ago: I think the average exit velocity tonight was 83 or something like that,” Gallen said. “It’s kind of hard. It’s tough when you give up 12 hits. And three of them were harder than 93. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes that’s just the way the game goes.

“I felt like in spots when I needed to make a good pitch, I felt like I did. Just one of those cases where you maybe tip your cap. They were a little bit better today. If you’re not going to induce miss, getting weak contact works, too — or at least you would hope. Tonight, in spots, it would have been nice to get miss and get whiff, but weak contact is — you’re kind of shooting for that, too. It’s unfortunate.”

Gallen will have to be better if he wants to jump to a World Series contender like the Yankees.

What would the Yankees’ perfect offer be?

At age 30 (soon 31), Gallen should still have a few years left in his MLB tank. But sometimes pitchers hit a wall. Perhaps Gallen is trending toward the downslope of his career.

Therefore, the Yankees need to be careful about how much farm-system talent they are willing to surrender.

A good fit as a starting point would be Allen Facundo. He’s a 23-year-old left-hander who is probably two years away from the big leagues, according to MLB.com. He has recovered strongly from Tommy John surgery.

“Coming back from his elbow reconstruction, Facundo threw harder than ever, working at 94-96 mph and touching 100 with his heater,” MLB.com wrote. “He has more success with a two-seamer with sink because his four-seamer is fairly straight and doesn’t miss many bats. His mid-80s slider lacks consistency but could become a solid offering with more development, while he barely uses a changeup that sits around 90 mph without much action.

“Because he’s currently a two-pitch guy who has yet to show any durability, Facundo projects more as a reliever than a starter. He works solely out of the stretch and with an upright delivery and three-quarters arm slot.”

Adding to the offer would be Eric Reyzelman, a 24-year-old right-hander who could reach the big leagues this year, according to MLB.com.

“When he was rolling two years ago, Reyzelman paired a 94-97 mph fastball that hit 99 and featured good carry with a tight low-80s slider with significant horizontal action,” MLB.com wrote. “In 2025, his heater dropped 2 mph and lost life, while his sweeper lost 4 mph and often didn’t come close to the strike zone. He had an effective low-80s changeup with huge fade in 2024. But it became so unreliable that he abandoned it last season.”

Perhaps the Diamondbacks would want a third player, like a young bat. But Gallen’s performance so far this year would be something the Yankees could use to their benefit in trade talks.