PHOENIX (AP) — Right-hander Zac Gallen has agreed to a $22,025,000, one-year contract to return to the Arizona Diamondbacks, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed Friday night.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending a physical.
The 2023 All-Star, a client of agent Scott Boras, was seeking a multi-year contract, but after nothing acceptable materialized, he's coming back to the desert where he's spent the majority of his big league's career.
MLB.com first reported Gallen and the D-backs were close to a deal. The value of the contract is equal to the qualifying offer that Gallen turned down in November after he become a free agent. He was the last player to reach a deal among the nine free agents who had turned down qualifying offers.
Gallen had his worst season in the big leagues in 2025, finishing with 13-15 record with a 4.83 ERA and an 8.2 strikeout rate per nine innings, the lowest of his career. But his velocity was still good and he performed better after the All-Star break with a 3.97 ERA over his final 13 starts. He had a $13.5 million salary.
The 30-year-old was one of the best pitchers in the National League from 2022-24, finishing fifth in the Cy Young Award voting in 2022 and third in 2023.
He was the ace for the D-backs in 2023, going 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA, as they made a surprise run to the World Series before losing in five games to the Texas Rangers.
Gallen was selected in the third round of the 2016 amateur draft by the St. Louis Cardinals after playing in college at North Carolina. He was traded to the Marlins in 2017 and made his big-league debut with the organization in 2019 before being traded again to the D-backs in a deal that sent Jazz Chisholm Jr. to Miami.
Overall, Gallen is 66-52 with a 3.58 ERA in seven major league seasons.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen works against a San Diego Padres batter during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull,File)
SHANGHAI (AP) — Formula 1 champion Lando Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri were both unable to start the Chinese Grand Prix after hitting technical problems minutes before the race began.
Piastri was due to start fifth and Norris sixth for Sunday's race. Norris was in his car in the pits but didn't leave for the grid, before Piastri was then withdrawn from the grid following a radio message which indicated an electrical issue.
“Unfortunately we identified separate issues on both cars which prevented them from starting the Chinese GP, with Oscar’s being removed from the grid shortly before the formation lap. We will now work to identify each issue,” McLaren said.
It's the second time Piastri has failed to start in 2026 after he crashed before the start of last week's race in Australia.
Kimi Antonelli was seeking to convert his record-breaking pole position into a first career win but will have to stay ahead of his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Antonelli became the youngest driver to qualify on pole position for an F1 Grand Prix race Saturday. The 19-year-old Italian starts on the front row alongside Russell, who recovered from technical problems to post the second-fastest time.
They're looking to continue Mercedes dominance in F1's new era of regulations after Russell won last week's Australian Grand Prix and the sprint race in China on Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari briefly got ahead of Antonelli at the start but the Italian took the place back soon after.
F1 is racing hours after it announced next month's races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not go ahead because of the war in the Middle East.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car ahead of others during the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy gestures during the drivers parade ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix race at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
