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Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen: Set for Opening Day assignment
Rotowire
The Diamondbacks named Gallen as their starter for Opening Day against the Dodgers on March 26.
Merrill Kelly had previously been tapped to start Opening Day for Arizona, but he will not be ready at that point as he recovers from a back injury. As a result, Gallen -- who re-signed with the Diamondbacks at the start of spring training -- will be making his fourth consecutive Opening Day start. Gallen had a disappointing 2025 campaign, finishing with a 4.83 ERA and 175:66 K:BB over 192 innings.
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Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen: Works scoreless inning
Rotowire
Gallen allowed one hit and struck out two over one scoreless inning in Wednesday's spring start against the Dodgers.
Gallen made his Cactus League debut, throwing 23 pitches (14 strikes) against a lineup of backups. He allowed a single to the first batter faced then retired the next three. Gallen, a late free-agent signing, is slightly behind other starters but should be ready in time for the regular season. With news that Merrill Kelly (back) will not start Opening Day, Gallen is an option to make a fourth consecutive Opening Day start for the Diamondbacks. His first spring outing last year was a one-inning affair on Feb. 24, and Gallen was ready to take the ball on Opening Day in 2025.
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Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen: Throws live BP session
Rotowire
Gallen threw a live batting-practice session Friday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.
Gallen, who was signed last week, threw his first session since entering camp. He threw about 20 pitches, and manager Torey Lovullo was pleased with what he saw. "The fastball command looked good," the manager said. "It looked like he was throwing a nice cutter, his breaking ball I think was trending in a very positive direction." It appears that Gallen isn't too far behind the other starters despite missing the first handful of days in camp. The pitcher said he felt good and was given positive feedback from the batters he faced.
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Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen: Returning to Arizona
Rotowire
Gallen signed a one-year, $22.025 milion contract with the Diamondbacks on Friday, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.
After not receiving the level of interest he might have expected on the open market, Gallen will officially return to the Diamondbacks for another season on a contract that will pay him the same amount as the qualifying offer he declined earlier this winter. The 30-year-old righty is coming off the worst season of his big-league career, as he finished 2025 with a 4.83 ERA and 1.26 WHIP while serving up 31 homers -- tied for fourth-most in MLB. He remains a reliable option from a health standpoint, however, making at least 31 starts in three of the past four years.
Gallen rejected the Diamondbacks' one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer Tuesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
The decision was anticipated, and Gallen will now seek a multi-year contract on the free-agent market. If he departs Arizona, the Diamondbacks will receive a draft pick as compensation. Gallen posted a career-worst 4.83 ERA in 2025, but he had a career 3.29 ERA with a 26.6 percent strikeout rate coming into the season. The 30-year-old should have little trouble landing a lucrative multi-year contract.
The Diamondbacks extended a one-year, $22.05 million qualifying offer to Gallen on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Gallen is coming off the worst season of his MLB career, with his 4.83 ERA, 15 losses, 8.2 K/9 and 1.5 HR/9 all being career worsts. Though it's unclear just how large the market will be for Gallen after a down year, he could decline the qualifying offer in hopes of securing a long-term deal ahead of his age-30 campaign. If he does so and then signs elsewhere, Arizona would receive draft compensation.
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