Starting pitcher Zac Gallen returns to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a one-year contract.

MLB's official site reports that the Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a one-year contract with Zac Gallen, the right-handed pitcher returning to Arizona.

Sources indicate the deal is valued at $22.025 million, equal to the qualified offer Gallen rejected last November, including $14 million in deferred payments. The team has not formally confirmed the signing, which is subject to passing a physical.

Since being traded from the Miami Marlins to the Diamondbacks at the 2019 trade deadline, Gallen has considered Phoenix his home, and he expressed a desire to stay with the team at the end of last season.

Insiders say he chose to remain with the Diamondbacks after turning down multi-year offers from other teams.

After his final regular-season start against the Padres, Gallen lingered on the mound for a long time, reluctant to take off his jersey.

“It was hard to take it off,” Gallen said at the time. “When the manager came out to replace me, I hesitated a bit on the mound. I’ve worn this jersey for seven years. Although I’ve been with other teams, I truly consider myself a Diamondback. Most of my career has been here, and if this was really the last time, it would be a tough reality to accept. I know the past two years haven’t gone well, and this year wasn’t what I expected. But every five days, putting on this jersey is an honor and a pride. I give my all every time I pitch; it’s just that this year wasn’t good enough.”

Over seven seasons, Gallen ranked among the top five in the National League in ERA in both 2022 and 2023. In 2022, he posted a 2.54 ERA and pitched 44.1 consecutive scoreless innings spanning months. In 2023, he set career highs with 210 innings pitched and 220 strikeouts, leading the Diamondbacks' starting rotation as they advanced to the World Series. Although Arizona lost the series in five games to the Texas Rangers, Gallen carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of Game 5.

However, the last two seasons have been challenging for the 30-year-old New Jersey native. In 2024, he missed about a month due to a right hamstring strain, and his walk rate surged from 5.1% to 8.7%.

The recently concluded season marked the darkest chapter of Gallen’s career, with a 4.83 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 21.5% strikeout rate, and 9.7% hard-hit rate—all personal worsts. He surrendered 31 home runs, tying for fourth most among qualified starters.

Still, Gallen’s future remains promising. In his last 11 starts during August and September, he posted a 3.32 ERA, completing at least six innings in nine of those games. Using a 93-mph four-seam fastball paired with a knuckle-curve and changeup, he generated many weak contact outs late in the season, with a 36.8% soft-hit rate and 6.2% hard-hit rate, compared to 46.3% and 11.5% before August.

Gallen was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the 2016 draft and was involved in two major trades early in his career. In 2017, he was part of a four-player package sent from the Cardinals to the Marlins in exchange for Marcell Ozuna; Sandy Alcantara was also included in that deal. Two years later, Gallen was traded to the Diamondbacks for Jazz Chisholm Jr.