PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - BREAKING: Zac Gallen is RETURNING to D-backs on One-Year Deal per Report

Episode Date: February 14, 2026

In a move we have been anticipating, the Arizona Diamondbacks are running it back with another one of their aces. According to Steve Gilbert, the D-backs are bringing back Zac Gallen on a one-year deal for the 2026 season. We break down the reported terms, react to what this means for the rotation and the payroll, and discuss why keeping Gallen in the Valley for at least one more year could be huge for Arizona’s postseason hopes.LIMITED-TIME 60% off Diehard Offer: https://gophnx.com/intro-offer-youtubeJOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4An ALLCITY Network ProductionSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsportsMERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-lockerALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of PhoenixPHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/Phoenix Raceway: Get your tickets now for March 5-8! https://www.phoenixraceway.com/march-cup-weekend/?CID=PIR_DI_TP_BA_PHNX26Spring_251120ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order!Husband & Wife Law Team: If you’ve had a serious injury, Call The Husband & Wife Law Team first at 602-783-8841 or visithttps://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotesbet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets!Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/ Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people. Circle K: Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you!When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.#dbacks #diamondbacks #arizonadiamondbacks #mlb #zacgallen #corbincarroll #ketelmarte #mlbtheshow #mlbtraderumors #tradedeadline #traderumors #allstargame  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The milkman is back, which means plenty of chances for me to mispronounce milk. Well, ski and excuse my internet issues. We are having a little bit of a delay thanks to my terrible Wi-Fi at my house. But thrilled to have you guys here. We'll work our way through this year shortly. And of course, I am pumped to be doing this emergency podcast. I promised I'm not nearly as drunk as I look right now. But I did want to get a little together just shortly to talk about Zach Gallen returning to this team.

We have news here from Steve Gilbert tonight that the Arizona Diamondbacks are in fact doing something that we were hoping that they would be doing. According to Steve Gilbert, he said here about at 7.05 p.m. shortly after we wrapped our show, shortly after I left the office and made it to my home through traffic and everything downtown. We find out here from Steve Gilbert that the Diamondbacks are closing in on a deal to bring Zach Allen back to Arizona. It did not take very long for that deal to go from Steve Gilbert hearing it to it sounding like a done deal. It's still not official, obviously, but reports are coming in from all across MLB here that the Diamondbacks have, in fact, brought Zach Gallen back on a one-year deal. We have a little look at the terms here. Mark Feinsen tweeted out here that Zach Allen has agreed to a $22.025 million deal,

14 million of which is deferred with the Diamondbacks per a source. The salary matches the qualifying offer that Gallen rejected in November. Steve Gilbert, Nick Picorro, and Ken Rosenthal were on it. So basically the deal is the exact same deal that he would have accepted if he accepted the qualifying offer here, but with $14 million deferred. And I don't hate that. I don't think anybody hates that. In fact, Bob Nightingale updated us here on the deferrals, and they will be paid out over a three-year period of time.

And again, this is very exciting for the Arizona Diamondbacks overall. This is a, uh, a, a welcome piece, somebody who struggled in 2025 and obviously did not have his best season. It's unfortunate he didn't because this was the offseason that he had been looking forward to. Perhaps the off season we weren't looking forward to. We thought here that Zach Gallen might be, you know, leaving this team forever. and at this point, based on his performance over his career with the Diamondbacks, it was en route for it to go that way, for him to get a big contract with another team.

But unfortunately, the way that 2025 went for Zach did not give him that opportunity to go out there and get that big contract that he's been seeking. Everybody's excited in the chat. The milkman is back in town, pumped for that. And I get to use that video of, you know, Kurt Engel that I put. that gallon's head on so you know i'm i'm excited about that what i'm also excited about is that galen's post trade deadline numbers we discussed the we we've actually discussed the idea of gallon coming back on this show quite a bit uh we have been a fan of the idea and we knew that if it was going to come back down to that zack gallon returning to this team that it was most likely going to be a fairly team

friendly deal you don't get much more team friendly than it essentially being the qualifying offer with $14 million of that $22 million deferred over the next three years. It helps the Diamondbacks out with the financial situation that they're in, and it gives them six starting pitchers next year. Never forget, never forget the faithful words of one Corbyn Burns when he was in his introductory press conference, and he said, you never get through a season with just five starting pitchers. I think that that was a phrase that was running through Mike Hazen's head,

and I saw Hazen today at Salt River Fields, feverishly working the phones. So I imagine that this was when this deal was coming together. But again, Zach Gallen here, when you take a look at his overall season last year, not great in his track record with the Diamondbacks. It's only two seasons that he's had bad seasons, really, with a four ERA or higher, right? But if you break down Gallin's performance after the trade deadline, specifically once James McCann joined this team, and once this team was kind of trying to do something special, also, Once Zach Gallen wasn't traded and professed to us that he felt like he let the team down by his performance in the first half being so poor that he wasn't a value to be traded. But when you look at these numbers post trade deadline, this is the Zach Gallen that we kind of know and love.

He went six and three. He had a 3.32 ERA, a 3.95 FIP, a 2.34 batting average balls on play, balls in play. And then home runs per nine, he lowered it down to 1.11. So again, he was much more, like I said, of the Zach Gallen that we knew there in the second half. But again, when you look at these numbers right here, these are numbers that if he can somehow find a way over the 2026 season to replicate these numbers and stretch it out with more consistency over the course of the season, you feel pretty good. about this deal. You feel pretty good about the Diamondbacks paying Zach Gallen $22 million and having 14 million of it deferred. You also feel good about the idea that the Diamondbacks, you know, now have themselves a solidified starting rotation where if, you know,

performance dictates one rises above another, then that's kind of a good thing for this team. And performance could bring the best out of this entire starting rotation, essentially at the end of the day when when guys know that there's an opportunity that they could lose their spot, they tend to perform better. And it's just unfortunately part of sports, but it's a good thing in this case. Not only that, but we know the injuries have already crept up on the diamond backs. We know the diamond backs are already experiencing some issues with personnel when it comes to this. This may help out the bullpen with perhaps Michael Soroka moving to the bullpen. or again, this might just be some sort of crazy six-man rotation.

I doubt that's going to be the case. But with Gallant coming back, there's a lot of positives, right? Obviously, the negatives are easy. You can look at his numbers from 2025. I'm not going to do that. I'm going to cherry pick. This is a good thing. This is a positive thing.

We're not going to get into the weeds about how bad Gallin was. But Candace is right. What a great Galentine's day it is. What a great Galentine's day it is. Indeed, Candice, because we are getting back familiarity and stability here. with Zach Gallen. And again, I know he wasn't consistent last year. I know he had his problems, but Gallen definitely has a long tenure that you trust and you feel comfortable with here. The organization knows his strengths. They know his weaknesses. They know a lot about him.

James McCann already knows a lot about him. And I feel like that is a guy that if Gallen can continue to work with, he can rebound and have himself a better season. He does have a track record of excellence when it comes to his performance overall. You know, 2025 again was subpar, but it was not a season ender. It shouldn't have been the kind of thing, even though it was his worst season statistically. And it was 4.83 ERA worst. He had a career low strikeout rate, but he stayed healthy. He completed 33 starts and he got stronger as the season went on. And we've talked a little bit about Mike Hazen and Tori Lobolo, both saying that the pitching staff kind of takes the blame for how bad this team's defense was last year. And that could absolutely be the case when it comes to Gallen.

But I also know that the bad defense behind Gallin also kind of tended, tend to make him fold a little bit. So he, it felt like he got stronger mentally as this season. and went on. And again, the defense behind him got better. But again, it's about having a dependable arm, which is something the diamondbacks need. And rather than chasing a huge long-term free agent, especially with the financial instability of 2027 creeping up on us, I mean, for all of us, including this guy right here, you don't really know what's going to happen for baseball. You don't know how long that potential lockout is going to be and how long that battle for a new CBA is going to last.

So while teams like the Dodgers can take advantage for now and sign high-price players and hope it kind of gets grandfathered into whatever changes are made, the Diamondbacks don't have that same flexibility. And they don't have the ability right now to wait for, you know, this or to do anything crazy until they know what 2027 holds and beyond. So having Gallen come back just on a one year deal feels right for the Diamondbacks. It feels right for Tori Lovela because of this potentially being his final year with this team. And it feels right, you know, just overall for for Gallen to kind of have a

prove it season where he can come back and show people that he's not what he was in 2025, at least not in the entirety of the season with how bad his numbers were overall. I mean, but again, It's it's really about, you know, getting the band back together for this team right now. They have so many guys currently that are that are coming back to this team. I got to make sure that our, sorry, it's arc detect, ARC, D-T-C-H, she's asking, is a really video really off sync for anyone else? No, yes, for everyone, including me. So you're not crazy.

My internet is just terrible. And my, I'm not even blaming it on my internet. Apparently it's my MacBook is loaded with stuff in its cash. And it's been really slow lately. So my apologies to everyone. But again, pushing through here, I just wanted to let everyone know that Zach Gallon is back and that it's a strong fit here for the Diamondbacks. The deal is a good deal.

14 million deferred is a good deal. We're finally getting money, money deferred, and we're finally playing the game the way other teams play it. We got to do whatever we can to keep up with these teams. And again, there's just so many reasons why Zach Gallen fits with this team. Those strengths, they know how to maximize them. He brings proven front line starter upside, not just innings. He's not just an innings eater. And again, it's the fact that the structure and payroll allow flexibility around him overall.

this definitely is Dback's fan 130 says in the chat this helps the bullpen insanely sorroca moving back into the pen makes this actually solid and functioning bullpen and we have two closers coming back at some point during the season you feel good about that you feel good about that Deborah thank you so much I apologize once again for my internet being wonky but I appreciate you guys joining us for this because I think the one downside to this that I've explained in the past is that bringing, bringing players back isn't always the most exciting move for the fan base, especially when we didn't have the results that we wished when they were here. However, I do think another season with a highly motivated Zach Gallen, back here with Merrill Kelly, back here with James McCann behind the plate, and a healthy Gabby Moreno should improve Gallen and should improve a lot for this team. So again, as far as a deal is concerned, there's no starting pitcher of Zach Gallen's caliber that the Diamondbacks could have added that that would have done this for this organization.

Katie says, I think he is worth giving a chance. His improvement earned it completely understand there. And again, he's done a lot for this team. He's meant a lot to this team. I kind of hated the way he was unceremoniously, you know, I guess for the time being, even though he's now, now he's back. He was just kind of like gone. You know, it was, he was offered the qualifying offer.

He rejected it and it very much looked like he was going to move on, right? That is one thing that is negative as well with this is the diamondbacks do not get that compensatory pick, draft pick for, you know, Gallen signing with another team, whether it was the higher pick or the compensatory round. B pick. I still think that Gowan is worth more than a draft pick. And I think much like YTIF21 said he's going to have a major bounce back season, I think that could be the case for sure. But you're right. We can never have enough starting pitching, and especially with the way that injuries are going in Major League Baseball, you can't trust anything. So I'm going to go ahead and

wrap this up before my internet makes fools of us all again, or at least makes fools of me. But we thank you guys so much for joining us. Big shout out to Noah on the ones and twos for sacrificing a little bit of his Friday night to join me to get this emergency podcast going. Groundhog Mama, thank you so much for being a member for five months. She says, we need deback emojis, please. Yes, the season is back. We will get those supporters club members.

updated, the emojis updated. I demand it, in fact. I'm with you 100%. I thank you guys for joining me. Appreciate you for sticking in with me. We will be back. You know what? You know what? Caesar's right. Caesar's right. This is a win. This is a win. So we're turning on the cactus. Bring it in. Yep, we got the cactus here because that gallon coming back is definitely a win. you are right about that. And we will see you guys back here. Maybe on Monday,

maybe the Diamondbacks do this to me again, and I have to do another emergency podcast. Hopefully by then I can reset my router and get my computer fix. But of course, you can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Kapp underscore Caveman with a K, as many of you know. Noah absolutely refuses to have you follow him.

And if you are following him on social media, I request kindly that you stop following him. That's his wishes, not mine. I'm just trying to honor his wishes. Of course, our show is at PHNX underscore Debex, and as always, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Thank you guys so much for stopping by.

We appreciate you joining us. We'll see you on Monday at 12 p.m. maybe. And until then, hope you all have a wonderful weekend. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when the milk man delivers.