The Chicago Cubs were warned to stay away from Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen at the 2025 MLB trade deadline.
Cubs Warned to Avoid Trade for Diamondbacks Pitcher Zac Gallen originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Chicago Cubs are one of many teams that will be on the market for starting pitching at the 2025 MLB trade deadline. The problem is, there are too many teams with needs for the amount of arms available.
However, Yahoo Sports' Cole Shelton recently warned the Cubs to stay away from this former All-Star pitcher, which would narrow the search for the National League Central leaders.
On Tuesday, Shelton wrote that the Cubs should stay away from Arizona Diamondbacks' starter Zac Gallen.
Gallen has been the topic of trade talks all season long as he's currently on a one-year, $13.5 million contract and will be a free agent after this season.
With the Diamondbacks' injuries derailing their season, many believe they could turn into sellers at the deadline, despite their ownership's constant denial.
Gallen is in his seventh year in MLB and has carved out quite a career with a 3.51 ERA and over 925 innings pitched. He's finished inside the top 10 for the Cy Young award three times and made the All-Star game in 2023 when he was the runner-up to the MVP.
“The way he pitched last night, I know he caught the attention of a lot of people around the industry”
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 8, 2025
- @jonmorosi on Zac Gallen with the Trade Deadline 23 days away pic.twitter.com/MTdrACe6AO
However, 2025 has not been polite to Gallen. Through 19 starts, he's just 7-9 with a career worst 5.15 ERA. But it's been a tale of two stories for the veteran starter.
Gallen's last two starts have shown glimpses of the Diamondbacks' ace we saw in 2023. He's thrown 13 innings and given up just one earned run while accumulating 19 strikeouts.
However, over the last three starts prior, Gallen had given up 16 runs over 16.2 innings and just 13 strikeouts.
The last two starts could be the former All-Star turning the corner, or it could be his inconsistency throughout the season continuing. But if he keeps the success up, he'll either remain in Arizona at the deadline or elevate his price for the Diamondbacks in a trade.
Regardless, Lampert doesn't believe Gallen is the pitcher worth going after for the Cubs, and the Diamondbacks may be doing Chicago a favor by being stingy about a potential trade.
Related: Cubs Predicted to Land Right-Hander Who Recently Threw No-Hitter
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Baseball
