Zac Gallen is heading back to the desert. Gallen and the Arizona Diamondbacks are closing in on a one-year contract worth $22.025 million, according to a report from The Athletic. About $14 million would be deferred. The deal matches the $22.025 million qualifying offer Gallen rejected in November. The team has not yet announced the signing, which is pending a physical.

Gallen, 30, is coming off a 2025 season in which he didn’t live up to his established standards, hence settling for a one-year contract despite finishing in the top 10 of the National League Cy Young voting three times in his career. 

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For his career, Gallen has pitched to a 119 ERA+ and an FIP of 3.65 across parts of seven MLB seasons. Over that span he’s compiled a WAR of 20.7, and he’s topped 30 starts and 180 innings in three of the last four seasons. Gallen spent the last six seasons and change with the D-backs, who acquired him from the Miami Marlins in July 2019 in exchange for Jazz Chisholm Jr. 

Earlier in the offseason, CBS Sports ranked Gallen as the No. 18 available free agent in the class of 2025-26. Here’s part of R.J. Anderson’s write-up: 

“Gallen salvaged what he could with a good 11-start closing stretch, but an otherwise miserable walk year makes him feel like a strong candidate to accept the qualifying offer (if one is tendered) and try again in 2026. Otherwise? He’s a candidate to sign a one-year deal elsewhere and modify his arsenal in an attempt to push back against a trend that has seen his performance slip in each of the past two years.”

Before Gallen’s return, FanGraphs estimated Arizona’s 2026 payroll at $173 million. That is just south of the franchise record ($177 million in 2024), so Gallen will push the club well into uncharted payroll territory. The D-backs will neither gain nor forfeit draft picks to re-sign their own qualified free agent.

Arizona brought Merrill Kelly back earlier this offseason, and now they’ve reunited with Gallen. Those two will join lefty Eduardo Rodriguez and righties Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt in the rotation. Corbin Burnes, last offseason’s big free-agent splash, is expected to return from Tommy John surgery at midseason.

The D-backs went 80-82 last season and missed the postseason by three games. They sold at the trade deadline, most notably sending Kelly to the Texas Rangers and Eugenio Suárez to the Seattle Mariners, though they kept Gallen.

Gallen was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. He went to the Marlins with Sandy Alcantara as part of a December 2017 deal that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis.

Retired wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson believes that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s stint with the Miami Dolphins might be coming to an end. After a disappointing 2025 season, there is uncertainty regarding his future.

On Friday’s episode of Jordan Schultz’s podcast, the Super Bowl XXXVII champion said that Tagovailoa still has a chance at redemption. However, he needs the right coach and team to help guide him out of this hole.

“The guy, if he can stay healthy, and he finds the right coach in the right system, is Tua,” Johnson said. “Because he’s done it at high level at Alabama. I’ve seen the Miami Dolphins winning when he’s healthy. And I’ve seen the Miami Dolphins without him.

“And that tells me if he got the right coach in the right situation that understands the player, you can work miracles with him. I don’t need him to carry the team. I just need him to drive the bus and not sideswipe cars. And if he can do that, he’s a guy I think in the right situation, he gets out to places you’re trying to go.”

The Dolphins drafted Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. However, in just six years, he’s suffered multiple concussions, raising concerns about his longevity in the league. Despite this, the team decided to give him a four-year, $212.4 million extension in 2024.

During that season, Tagovailoa suffered his third concussion in two years, which sidelined him for a couple of games. The Dolphins missed the playoffs and finished second in the AFC East with an 8-9 record.

This season, they once again failed to make the postseason after a 7-10 campaign, finishing third in the AFC East. Tagovailoa played in 14 games and recorded 2,660 yards and 20 TDs passing with 15 interceptions and 30 sacks. He was then benched in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers for the last four games.

Last month, the Dolphins decided to fire coach Mike McDaniel after four seasons. They named ex-Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Halfey as his replacement.

ALSO READ: “Welcome to hell Tua Tagovailoa” “Doomsday hire”: NFL fans react as Dolphins sign Super Bowl-winning coach as pass-game coordinator

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Dolphins GM gets honest about Tua Tagovailoa’s future with the franchise

On Thursday, Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan shared his thoughts on the team’s quarterback situation involving Tua Tagovailoa.

He said that they plan on acquiring a quarterback at this year’s draft. However, they have not yet finalized whether they plan on retaining Tagovailoa after his disappointing 2025 season.

“Of course, we’ll be looking at other quarterbacks in the draft,” Sullivan said as per PFT. “But look, Tua was in my officec the other day, if I’m being perfectly frank. We had a great conversation. Tua has been a very good player in this league. He’s done a lot of really good things for the Miami Dolphins You guys should be proud to have him and having had him.

“I don’t know what the future holds right now, and I told Tua that. We’re working through some things. What I can tell you is that we are going to infuse competition into that room, whether Tua is part of the room, whether he’s not part of the room. … We’re getting close to a decision. And when we do, we’ll let Tua know whether he’s gonna be a part of this or not.”

In six seasons, Tua Tagovailoa played in 78 total games and has recorded 18,166 yards and 120 TDs passing for the Dolphins.