With Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt both recovering from Tommy John surgery to various degrees, Carlos Rodón out for at least the start of 2026, and the rest of the rotation bar Max Fried talented but
inconsistent or still unproven, the Yankees could very well take a shot at a starting pitcher acquisition this winter. They haven’t been linked much to the biggest names on the market, like Dylan Cease and Framber Valdez, but there has been a bit of smoke around Japanese arm Tatsuya Imai.
However, the biggest names aren’t the only ones out there. There’s also some names that, for various reasons, could come at a bit of discount. One of those is Zac Gallen, so let’s dive in on him and take a look at whether he should be a pitcher the Yankees consider.
2025 Statistics: 33 games, 192.0 innings pitched, 4.83 ERA, 89 ERA+, 4.50 FIP, 4.12 xFIP, 21.5 K%, 8.1 BB%, 1.1 fWAR
2026 FanGraphs Depth Chart Projections: 32 games, 188.0 innings pitched, 4.22 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 22.1 K%, 7.5 BB%, 2.3 fWAR
A Cardinals draft pick way back in 2016, Gallen originally came up with the Marlins, having been sent there along with Sandy Alcantara as part of the Marcell Ozuna trade in December 2017. He debuted there in 2019, but ended up dealt to Arizona later that season in exchange for current Yankee Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Gallen has since then spent the seven ensuing seasons as a Diamondback, hitting the free agent market this winter. While he’s never quite been the ace atop the mountain, his highs in the big leagues have been pretty good. He has three top ten NL Cy Young Award voting finishes, including in 2023 where he finished third. Earlier that year, he also was opposite Gerrit Cole as the NL starting pitcher in the All-Star Game. Arizona also advanced to the World Series that season, and Gallen put in vital performances in the D-Backs’ upsets of the Brewers and Dodgers to advance there. He was also pretty good in two starts in the World Series, despite Arizona losing it in five games. Personally, he was arguably even better than that in 2022 — at least according to Baseball Reference WAR — as he led the league in WHIP that season at 0.913.
That being said, 2025 was a bit of a struggle for Gallen. His ERA and FIP were both career worst totals, while he also allowed 31 home runs, which was a career high by nine over his next highest season. You might wonder if that means he’s getting hit harder as he ages, but weirdly his average exit velocity allowed was higher in 2023 than it was last year. However, his fastball does not fit neatly into that, as 11 of the 31 homers he gave up came on four seamers, and that pitch had an average exit velocity of 93.1, the worst of any pitch by a large margin. His knuckle curve also fell off a bit last season, when it had previously been a pretty good weapon for him. However, his changeup still rated as very effective last season, and it’s certainly possible some tinkering from Matt Blake and company could help him bounce back, if the Yankees choose to go in that direction.
The Yankees also have a history of, if they don’t go for the most high profile option at a given position, they’ll go with someone with a good career but recent struggles in the hopes they can get them back on track. Paul Goldschmidt and Corey Kluber are some recent examples that come to mind, even if Gallen doesn’t have quite the illustrious career that those two do.
On the other hand, when the Yankees make those kinda deals, they’re usually of the one-year variety. Gallen will most likely get a longer term than that, with MLB Trade Rumors projecting him for a four-year, $80 million contract.
Gallen could very well be a decent arm to get if you can get him on a shorter deal, but if he does reach the four-year or more mark, there are probably better options out there.
