Getting creative with contract leads Gallen, D-backs to happy reunion

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Zac Gallen was on the 16th hole of a golf course Friday afternoon when he got a text from his agent Scott Boras that talks with the Diamondbacks had taken a turn for the better. A deal appeared imminent.

Those last few holes didn't go as well for Gallen as the first 15 did, but the right-hander will gladly take that in exchange for returning to the place he has called home.

After he got home that night, the deal was finally agreed upon pending a physical, which Gallen passed Saturday and he showed up Sunday for the first full-squad workout of the year.

The agreement is worth $22.025 million, the same value as the qualifying offer Gallen rejected in November, and $14 million is deferred.

To make room for Gallen on the 40-man roster, right-hander Corbin Burnes, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, was placed on the 60-day injured list.

Gallen, who has been with the Diamondbacks since being acquired from the Marlins at the Trade Deadline in 2019, has made his home in Arizona and spoke toward the end of the season about wanting to stay with the D-backs.

Gallen said that he did receive offers for multiple years, but when it came down to it, he was willing to take the one-year deal to stay in Arizona.

"Holding out for, you know, an extra few dollars might be cutting off my nose, to spite my face," Gallen said. "Let's do something, let's get creative, let's just get into camp and have as close to a full Spring Training."

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Gallen saw first-hand the impact missing Spring Training can have on a pitcher when then-teammate Jordan Montgomery signed the day after the 2024 season opened and went on to perform poorly.

It certainly seemed unlikely as the winter went on that Gallen would return to the Diamondbacks. First, he rejected the qualifying offer and then the team, which had said it would cut its payroll from its record $195 million in 2025, signed free agent Merrill Kelly to a two-year, $40 million contract.

Kelly was one of the veterans dealt at last year's Trade Deadline, and when his deal with Arizona became official, the right-hander was in Mexico at outfielder Alek Thomas' wedding with Gallen. The pair have had lockers next to each other in the Chase Field clubhouse for years and are golfing partners on the road. They joked that Kelly's signing made it improbable that the Diamondbacks could afford Gallen as well.

"We didn't feel we would likely be able to justify financially bringing both guys back, and so we were able to put a deal together with Merrill, and we're delighted that we could," managing general partner Ken Kendrick said.

But the longer Gallen remained unsigned the better the chances of a return to the desert became.

When Gallen was willing to accept deferred money, the talks began to gain steam.

"I think everybody's happy to see him," Kelly said.

And Gallen was happy to see them. That was clear to Kendrick and team president/CEO Derrick Hall, who spent time with Gallen after the team had its first meeting of the spring Sunday.

"He let us know how much he wanted to be here -- he and his wife," Hall said. "I mean, he is a D-back, and he's been one of the most successful pitchers we've had in our history. It means a lot to us to still have him in the Diamondbacks uniform, and I think it's great for the team, it's good for him as a leader, to be back in that clubhouse. He's very comfortable here in this setting. It's not new to him, so I think it made a lot of sense for him, and it made great sense for us."