Zac Gallen he is one of two unsigned players who turned down an offer to qualify early in the offseason. The former All-Star righty is arguably the second best hitter available behind Framber Valdez. It’s been a quiet winter as far as rumors go, though, and the odds of Gallen getting a cushion contract are increasing as Spring Training approaches.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post appeared on MLB Network this week and gave an update on the rookie market. Heyman listed the Cubs, Orioles and Diamondbacks as remaining teams in the mix. He also added that the Angels and Padres are “in” this offseason as well but said that the last two teams are long shots to do something.
No one from that group is a good fit. The O’s are heavily linked to Valdez. Gallen feels he is the target of a backlash if Valdez’s asking price remains above Baltimore’s comfort zone. The Diamondbacks made a two-year, $40MM investment to bring back Merrill Kelly and sign Michael Soroka to a one-year contract. They still have room to trade Gallen, but GM Mike Hazen suggested recently that Kelly’s contract limited their financial flexibility to sign the late shortstop.
That doesn’t bode well for their chances of getting Gallen into the budget unless owner Ken Kendrick makes an exception to bring back a familiar player. Even if Gallen takes a two-year deal with an opt-out clause, he would likely command something close to the $22.025MM qualifying offer salary he turned down earlier this winter.
The Cubs hit the trade market for a major improvement, sending a package led by outfielder Owen Caissie to the Marlins for Edward Cabrera. He will pair up with Cade Horton at the top of the rotation which will keep Justin Steele coming back from elbow surgery in the first few months of the season. Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks are there as a good collection of deep starters.
Bolstering the rotation isn’t a necessity, but The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney writes that the Cubs are keeping their options open there. The president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged that the risk of injury is high in the modern game and pointed out that teams often need to rely on nine or ten starters to finish the season. While that doesn’t mean they’re in hot pursuit of Gallen, they’ll likely stay in touch until the veteran righty makes his decision.
The Padres and Angels have acute rotation needs. Payroll is a big question for both clubs. San Diego has already stunned by re-signing Michael King to a three-year, $75MM deal. The Angels have limited it to a few cheap one-year deals. That leaves them with a fair amount of cap space before they reach last season’s level, but there’s also no indication that ownership is willing to spend more this offseason.
Other teams known to remain in the early market include the Tigers, Braves, Athletics and White Sox. Detroit was loosely linked to Gallen during the Winter Meetings but has recently been tied to the likes of Lucas Giolito, Chris Bassitt and Nick Martinez. No one else has been publicly linked to Gallen this offseason, and it would be surprising to see a rebuilding White Sox team with the team selected to sign an eligible free agent.
