Jon Heyman of The New York Post appeared on MLB Network this week and gave an update on the starter market. Heyman mentioned the Cubs, Orioles and the incumbent Diamondbacks as teams that remain in the mix. He added that the Angels and Padres have also “checked in” this season, but suggested the latter two teams have more shots to get anything done.
No one from that group is a perfect fit. The O’s have been most often linked to Valdez. Gallen feels more like a fallback target if Valdez’s asking price remains above Baltimore’s comfort zone. The Diamondbacks made a two-year, $40 million investment to bring back Merrill Kelly and signed Michael Soroka to a one-year deal. They would still have room in the rotation for Gallen, but General Manager Mike Hazen recently suggested that the Kelly contract limited their financial flexibility to sign an established late-inning reliever.
That doesn’t bode well for their chances of fitting Gallen into the budget unless owner Ken Kendrick makes an exception to bring back a player he knows. Even if Gallen were to sign a two-year deal with an opt-out clause, he would likely get something close to the $22.025 million qualifying salary he turned down at the start of the winter.
The Cubs hit the trade market for their biggest upgrade, sending a package led by outfield prospect Owen Caissie to the Marlins for Edward Cabrera. He will team with Cade Horton at the top of a rotation that could see Justin Steele return from elbow surgery within the first few months of the season. Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks are lined up as a decent collection of depth starters.
Further strengthening the rotation is not necessarily a necessity, but Patrick Mooney of The Athletic writes that the Cubs are keeping their options open on that front. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged the higher risk of pitching injuries in the modern game, pointing out that teams often have to rely on nine or ten starters to get through a season. While that doesn’t mean they’ll definitely aggressively pursue Gallen, they’ll likely stay in touch until the right-wing veteran makes his decision.
The Padres and Angels have more immediate rotation needs. Payroll is the bigger question for both clubs. San Diego already surprised by re-signing Michael King to a three-year, $75 million deal with opt-outs. The Angels have limited themselves to a handful of cheap one-year deals. That gives them a fair amount of spending room before they reach last season’s levels, but there’s also no indication the owner is willing to spend much this season.
Other teams known to remain the starting pitching market include the Tigers, Braves, Athletics and White Sox. Detroit was loosely linked to Gallen around the Winter Meetings, but has recently been linked to the likes of Lucas Giolito, Chris Bassitt and Nick Martinez. None of the others have been publicly linked to Gallen this offseason, and it would be a particular surprise to see a rebuilding White Sox team with a draft pick to sign a qualified free agent.
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