Hope we saved some offense for today!
Coors Field last night proved, once again, to be a tonic for the bats. The D-backs pounded out season-high numbers in hits (21) and runs (14). They needed to, because the Zac Gallen Farewell Tour continues to stagger from disaster to disaster. It was the first time in almost four years, and only the third time in his career, that Gallen had allowed seven earned runs in a start. The last time had been July 23, 2021 at Wrigley Field. His ERA on the season is now 5.60 – Opening Day was the only time it was higher – and he is right at replacement level by bWAR. His fWAR is now above five too, also the highest since Opening Day. If it weren’t for Arizona’s pitching injury crisis, some hard decisions might need to be made.
That’s now a full year Gallen has been not very good, with an ERA over the past 365 days of 4.80, across 33 starts. It gets worse the more you zoom in. 28 days? 6.30 ERA. 14 days: 7.50. And seven days? An 8.74 ERA across two starts. It’s not a comforting trend. Worse, Gallen seems to have no clue what’s wrong, saying after last night’s outing. “I feel like I’ve tried just about everything, really. Or at least turned over every rock. I’m still trying to find rocks to turn over. But it’s getting pretty frustrating in that sense.” You and us both, Zac. It’s getting to the stage where the situation at the end of the year, in particular with regard to the Qualifying Offer, is getting murky.
Going into this year, it seemed like a no-brainer. The team makes a QO, Gallen declines in favor of the riches of free-agency – MLB Trade Rumors had him as the #2 free-agent pitcher next winter, behind only Dylan Cease (who incidentally, is also having his own issues, with a 4.69 ERA). Arizona gets an extra draft pick after the first round. But now? The QO last year was just over $21 million. The way his stock has been sinking, Gallen might accept, hoping to rebuild his value and re-enter the free-agent marked at the end of 2026. But would you give Gallen that much money? That’s where things get cloudy. Bounceback Gallen would be worth that. But what if he doesn’t? That’s why Mike Hazen gets the big bucks…