Ray’s teammate in 2020 was Zac Gallen, who finished ninth in the National League Cy Young Voting that season. In his debut in 2019, Gallen developed into a front-end-of-the-rotation starter. After 2020, he posted a 4.30 ERA in 121.1 innings pitched in 2021. He rebounded with a career year in 2022, posting a 2.54 ERA and 3.05 FIP in 184 innings pitched and finishing fifth in Cy Young Voting.
In Gallen’s 2023 campaign, he finished the year with a 3.47 ERA and 3.26 FIP in 210 innings pitched, finished third in the Cy Young voting, earned MVP votes and earned his first trip to the All-Star Game. The right-handed pitcher had a fine 2024, posting a 3.65 ERA and 3.38 FIP in 148 innings pitched while dealing with injuries, but Gallen’s play fell off a cliff in 2025.
Season statistics 2025
The 30-year-old made all 33 starts, but finished with a career-worst 4.83 ERA and 4.50 FIP in 192 innings pitched. His velocity didn’t drop or anything, but his K% plummeted to 21.5%, down from about 26-27% when he was at his best. Gallen’s walk rate is also up from his 2023 season, with an 8.7 BB% in 2024 and an 8.1 BB% in 2025.
It’s quite difficult to determine what went wrong. Compared to his 2023 season, Gallen generated about the same whiff% on all of his pitches, aside from a slight drop in fastball whiffs and a larger drop in cutter whiffs. Granted, he only threw 77 cutters in 2025. Compared to his 2022 season, Gallen generated even more scents in 2025.
His hard hit percentage even improved from 2023. That season he recorded a 46.2 hard hit percentage, but that dropped to 43% in 2025. The 2022 season was his best in terms of hard hit percentage, as it was only 36.1%.
In terms of his batted ball splits, his flyball percentage was relatively the same in 2023, while his line drive percentage actually dropped. The 2022 season was his best in the major leagues, but again, his batted ball percentages weren’t much different.
The right-handed pitcher could benefit from some work with Pete Walker, just like Ray did all those years ago, but is he fit?
Do they suit up for the Blue Jays?
There’s also the fact that he had an ERA over 4 in 2021, only to return the following year with his career-best season with a 2.54 ERA and 3.05 FIP. It’s a high-risk, high-reward signing.
That said, Gallen received a qualifying offer and turned it down, meaning signing him would require the Blue Jays to lose their second and fourth round picks. Losing draft picks, especially after being just two outs away from winning the World Series, is not a big deal. The problem is that there are better options with lower risk.
If there wasn’t a qualifying offer attached, he would be a great target for the Blue Jays. But since he declined the QO, the Jays should be confident they can unlock the best version of the 30-year-old right-hander if they sign Gallen.
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