Jim Bowden of The Athletic recently polled a group of MLB executives, and it was revealed that this group believes the Arizona Diamondbacks will look to trade starting pitcher Zac Gallen this season.
“Gallen is not having the free-agent walk year he wanted, going 6-9 with a 5.45 ERA over 18 starts,” Bowden wrote. “But he has three top-10 finishes in the NL Cy Young Award voting in his career, including the third-most votes in 2023, and a 3.53 ERA over 160 starts.
“His secondary pitches have not been as crisp this season and his average fastball is down a half mile an hour. Meanwhile, his walk and home run rates have increased while his strikeout rate has fallen. Maybe he’d benefit from a change of scenery. A trade could help him finish the season strong and boost his free agent value.”
Trading Gallen makes sense for Arizona, despite the fact that he’s in the middle of a career-worst season. The righty will still hold some value on the market with teams like the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs as potential suitors.
The Cubs have traded a lot of prospects already this year, so they could benefit from buying low on a potential star like Gallen. Chicago still hasn’t recovered from all the injuries it’s suffered to the starting rotation this season.
The Yankees haven’t added a starting pitcher to replace Gerrit Cole yet, and it’s been coming back to haunt them. New York will need to make a move or two ahead of the trade deadline, or it won’t be back in the World Series.
The Diamondbacks could trade Gallen now and look to re-sign him in the offseason. Worst case scenario, they can land a solid prospect haul and cut ties with the righty for good.
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