Right elbow inflammation sidelines the Arizona Diamondbacks' struggling former ace as rookie Mitch Bratt takes the mound, forcing the team to weigh expensive contract commitments against their postseason ambitions.
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen has officially been placed on the 15-day Injured List.
Instead of making his scheduled start on Sunday, July 12, the team has decided that Mitch Bratt would be the better option.
Gallen was placed on the IL due to right elbow inflammation, retroactive to Thursday, July 9. Remember, he made his last start on Tuesday, July 7, one that saw him give up four earned runs in 6.0 innings of work.
Bratt earns his second start of the season, but the bigger question is what does this mean for Gallen's long-term future with the team? At 30-years-old, the struggling 3-9 former ace sports a 6.34 ERA, a number that has remained above 6.00 in each of his last three starts.
Where do the Diamondbacks go from here?
"It's a little different than we projected early in this year,” manager Torey Lovullo said, according to MLB.com. “We have Nelly who's down, Zac who's down now, Soroka and Corbin. Those are the guys that we were projecting that were going to carry the heavy workload, but we know the landscape and we've got to make adjustments.”
Bratt gave the team a solid three innings on Wednesday, June 24, but now the team has thrown him into the deep-end as he's doing battle with the back-to-back World Series Champions.
For what it's worth, Gallen's six-inning start was the third time he's gone that long in his last five outings. He was starting to build up his stamina once again, but the deeper he goes into games, the easier it is for the opposing team to take advantage. Gallen has lost each of his last four starts, and he's lost five of seven dating back to Wednesday, June 3.
Knowing Gallen is only on a one-year deal, a steep one at that, there's always a chance the Diamondbacks could designate him for assignment.
Eating a $22.025 million contract is no easy feat, and that's not a fun decision for a team to have to make, but the clock is ticking on an Arizona squad that currently sits at second place in the National League West.
Bratt should give the Diamondbacks some innings, but he's a rookie. If Arizona wants to sneak into the Wild Card, they're going to need to make a move. That might not be here in 2026, but eventually, the team simply can no longer paying these massive contracts on pitchers that are well beyond their prime.
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