Zac Gallen Signing Ends in Embarrassment But Not for Cubs
This wasn’t Jon Morosi levels of bad because it’s not like Bruce Levine was saying Zac Gallen was en route to Cubs camp to begin spring training, but the Chicago baseball insider spent the past month stopping just short of guaranteeing that the Cubs would end up signing the free agent starting pitcher. As teams across the league kicked off spring training it was only a matter of time before Gallen made up his mind and you didn’t have to be a veteran reporter to see what the ultimate outcome would be.
Zac Gallen Re-Signs with Diamondbacks
I mean, duh, right? The 30-year-old starter ended the 2025 season with the worst year of his MLB career and it could not have come at a worse time for Gallen, who was hoping to cash in on a huge free-agent contract. Instead, his recent decline led to a dead market, which is why the Cubs stayed in the mix for his services.
Levine has been banging the drum every time he’s been on The Score since the calendar flipped to January, teasing Cubs fans about the potential of a Gallen signing. And I get it, sometimes the news cycle is slow, very slow and you need to fill the air with something, but it was kind of getting ridiculous how confident Levine sounded when discussing the chances of the Cubs getting Gallen.
Gallen ended up re-signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the agreement was reported Friday night. We’ll get back to those details shortly, but as recent as Friday morning Levine was still hyping up the Gallen to Cubs rumors. He relayed info from another team’s GM, who claimed that the Cubs were the favorites to sign Gallen.
The conversation surrounding Gallen to the Cubs did make sense for two main reasons. His track record, despite the recent struggles, offered the possibility of huge upside to the starting rotation. We’re talking about a two-time Cy Young Award finalist, who did bounce back in the second half of 2025. Also, Gallen, if signed to a Cubs-friendly deal, would have been great to have around as the team looks ahead to 2027, when three of their current veteran starters can be free agents.
Don’t take this as a complete fabrication. The Cubs were indeed interested in Gallen this offseason, but once his market completely tanked and he was left deciding on a short-term deal there was no way it made any more sense for him or the Cubs. No chance in hell Jed Hoyer was going to sign Gallen to any contract that allowed the pitcher to opt out after one year because that would have meant the Cubs losing a draft pick for only one season of Gallen.
On the flip side, obviously Gallen wants to raise his value and head back into free agency as soon as possible, which is why he eventually settled for the one-year deal to remain in Arizona.
The Diamondbacks don’t lose a draft pick because Gallen was their own free agent who rejected the qualifying offer and Gallen gets another year to prove he’s better than he’s shown in hopes of a much bigger contract.
Levine pushing the Gallen to Cubs narrative was bad and now it looks embarrassing because the highest likelihood after he had no big offers was always going to be going back to the Diamondbacks. Not the Cubs or any other team.
C’mon Bruce!