Zac Gallen returns to Arizona, leaving the Cubs to assess their pitching depth and internal options for the upcoming season.
The Chicago Cubs were linked to Zac Gallen for most of the offseason.
They were first mentioned in the Gallen sweepstakes all the way back in December when MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported that the two sides agreed to a deal. Then, the Cubs were among the teams that were most interested in the veteran pitcher just four days ago.
But Gallen decided to return to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a one-year deal. He officially agreed to a one-year, $22 million deal with the Diamondbacks late on Friday night.
The Cubs appeared to be real suitors for Gallen throughout the offseason. They were in on him as recently as this week, and the front office was likely very serious about adding him to this rotation for the 2026 season.
That $22 million price tag, though, was probably a bit too high for the Cubs. After signing Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract this offseason, the team is very close to the first luxury tax threshold.
Spotrac has the Cubs with a current $240 million payroll at this point. That means the team is roughly $4 million away from triggering the luxury tax. While the front office is open to paying it this year, signing Gallen would have put Chicago closer to the second luxury tax threshold.
The second luxury tax threshold sits at $264 million. If the Cubs signed Gallen to a $22 million contract, that would have lifted their 2026 payroll to around $262 million.
With the North Siders missing out on the best remaining pitcher on the free agent market, what’s next for the Cubs?
The short answer is really nothing.
The Cubs didn’t desperately need to sign Gallen. It would have been nice from a depth perspective because teams can never have too many pitchers. Injuries happen all the time, and pitchers are consistently on the injured list.
However, Chicago is actually in a pretty good spot in terms of their pitching depth heading into the season. That’s why the Cubs were likely never going to overpay or outspend other teams for Gallen.
They will begin the year with a solid five-man rotation involving Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, and Jameson Taillon. Then, Justin Steele will eventually be added to the mix once he is fully recovered from his elbow injury.
Even if injuries arise, the Cubs have enough pitchers to get them through the year. Colin Rea and Javier Assad are both solid rotation fill-ins. Rea had a 3.95 ERA across 32 appearances, while Assad had a 3.89 ERA across seven starts last season.
The Cubs might still be looking to add another starting pitcher in the free agent market, but their rotation is pretty much set for the start of the 2026 season. The addition of Cabrera is looking better and better by the day.