Zac Gallen is one of two unsigned players who declined a qualifying offer at the beginning of the offseason. The former All-Star righty is also arguably the second-best pitcher available behind Framber Valdez. It has nevertheless been a quiet winter in terms of rumors, and the odds of Gallen settling for a pillow contract are presumably rising as Spring Training approaches.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post appeared on MLB Network this week and provided an update on the starter’s market. Heyman listed the Cubs, Orioles and incumbent Diamondbacks as teams that remain in the mix. He added that the Angels and Padres have “checked in” this offseason as well but implied that the latter two teams are longer shots to get something done.
No one from that group is an ideal fit. The O’s have been most frequently connected to Valdez. Gallen feels more like a fallback target if Valdez’s asking price remains above Baltimore’s comfort zone. The Diamondbacks made a two-year, $40MM investment to bring back Merrill Kelly and signed Michael Soroka to a one-year deal. They’d still have room in the rotation for Gallen, but GM Mike Hazen suggested recently that the Kelly contract limited their financial flexibility to sign an established late-inning reliever.
That doesn’t bode especially well for their chances of fitting Gallen in the budget unless owner Ken Kendrick makes an exception to bring back a player with whom he’s familiar. Even if Gallen takes a two-year deal with an opt-out clause, he’d probably command something close to the $22.025MM qualifying offer salary which he declined at the beginning of the winter.
The Cubs went to the trade market for their biggest upgrade, sending a package led by outfield prospect Owen Caissie to the Marlins for Edward Cabrera. He’ll pair with Cade Horton at the top of a rotation that could get Justin Steele back from elbow surgery within the first couple months of the season. Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks are on hand as a decent collection of depth starters.
Further bolstering the rotation isn’t necessarily a need, but Patrick Mooney of The Athletic writes that the Cubs are keeping their options open on that front. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged the higher risk of pitching injuries in the modern game and pointed out that teams often need to lean on nine or ten starters to get through a season. While that doesn’t mean they’re certainly aggressively pursuing Gallen, they’ll probably keep in contact until the veteran righty makes his decision.
The Padres and Angels have more acute rotation needs. Payroll is the bigger question for both clubs. San Diego already surprised by re-signing Michael King on a three-year, $75MM deal with opt-outs. The Angels have limited themselves to a handful of cheap one-year deals. That leaves them with a decent amount of spending room before they hit last season’s level, but there’s also no indication that ownership is willing to spend much this offseason.
Other teams known to remain the starting pitching market include the Tigers, Braves, Athletics and White Sox. Detroit was loosely linked to Gallen around the Winter Meetings but has more recently been tied to the likes of Lucas Giolito, Chris Bassitt and Nick Martinez. None of the others have been publicly linked to Gallen this offseason, and it’d be a particular surprise to see a rebuilding White Sox team part with a draft pick to sign a qualified free agent.