Cubs eye Zac Gallen despite rotation depth. Insider hints at a strategic pitching move, potentially reshaping the rotation to acquire him.
The Chicago Cubs have already had a very active offseason.
Their offseason consisted of trading for Cabrera, revamping the bullpen, and signing Alex Bregman to a massive $175 million deal. Those moves are why Jim Bowden of The Athletic gave the Cubs an ‘A’ offseason grade.
Although the Cubs have already had a successful offseason, it doesn’t appear they are done adding to their roster ahead of Spring Training.
The front office is still looking for ways to upgrade the outfield depth heading into the season. Chicago has already added Chas McCormick, Dylan Carlson, and Justin Dean in recent weeks and has been connected to Miguel Andujar.
The Cubs also continue to be linked to starting pitcher Zac Gallen. The North Siders have been connected to the former Diamondbacks pitcher since the beginning of December, when MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported that Gallen reached a deal with the Cubs.
Months later, the Cubs are still reportedly involved in the Gallen sweepstakes in some capacity.
It is a bit surprising that the Cubs are still interested in him in free agency. The team already acquired a frontline starting pitcher in Cabrera this offseason, and the addition of Gallen would complicate the starting rotation once everyone is healthy.
With Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton, Justin Steele, and Cabrera, there isn’t necessarily a need for Gallen in this rotation. The Cubs already have solid depth behind those six starters as well, with Colin Rea and Javier Assad.
But there might be a bigger plan in place if the Cubs do eventually acquire Gallen in free agency. That’s at least what Cubs insider Bruce Levine hinted at while appearing on 104.3 The Score.
“For the last seven to eight weeks, Gallen and the Cubs have always been connected since early December,” Levine said. “And the idea that he is still out there without a contract and a quality starting pitcher who will have to take a three-year deal of some sort with some type of ability to get out of it after the first or second year. This might fall right into the Cubs' lap. Would it be an addition where they have another starting pitcher to move? Pitching depth is the key to success during a baseball season, and I think the Cubs are really hammering that home.”
This is the first time that fans have heard the possibility of trading a pitcher to acquire Gallen. While Levine doesn’t go too much into detail about that, he brings up an interesting point by mentioning it.
The Cubs could easily go out and sign Gallen, who the front office seems to have confidence in as a bounce-back candidate. They could then turn around and trade one of their current starting pitchers to open up a spot in the rotation.
With Imanaga, Taillon, and Boyd all in the final year of their deals, Chicago could look to trade one of those starting pitchers if Gallen winds up in the Windy City. All three pitchers are also set to make over $14 million in 2026.
By Levine putting that on our radars, it’s something the Cubs might have already internally discussed.