Cubs Reportedly Still In Discussions With Top Remaining Free Agent Pitcher

The Chicago Cubs have already had an incredibly exciting offseason to this point, but yet another huge move just might be brewing over at Wrigley Field.

After rebuilding the bullpen, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer traded for Edward Cabrera to fortify the starting rotation before, of course, landing Alex Bregman on the richest deal by AAV in the history of the franchise.

During the press conference to introduce Bregman to Chicago, though, Hoyer definitively told media the Cubs are not done making moves yet, and by the sound of it, there might be another one brewing here over the next week.

In an appearance with 670 The Score, Chicago insider Bruce Levine revealed that the team is still engaged in discussions with free agent starting pitcher Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks — who they have been heavily connected to this winter — to try to bring him in.

Cubs reportedly still talking with Zac Gallen

Zac Gallen of Arizona Diamondbacks throws pitch from right han — Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

"The Cubs and Scott Boras have continued talks about Zac Gallen becoming a Chicago Cub," Levine said. "Those talks are ongoing. My reporting is the possibility is that it’ll be a shorter-term type contract."

Last month, it was even reported that Chicago and Gallen had agreed to a deal and things were pending, though this obviously ended up being false. Nonetheless, even after other significant acquisitions, the noise connecting the two sides has not gone away to this point.

After an average 2025 season, Gallen was always seen as someone likely to take a shorter prove-it type deal, and this is something the Cubs would be expected to be all over. If Chicago wants to build some tremendous depth with serious upside, this could make a ton of sense.

Gallen could be great final piece for Cubs rotation

Zac Gallen of Arizona Diamondbacks reacts — Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Numerous times last season, Chicago had to try to win games on the backs of openers and unreliable options because, as is always the case, arms went down with injury. By adding Cabrera and eventually getting a healthy Justin Steele back, there is much more depth.

Adding Gallen to join Cabrera, Steele, Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton and Shota Imanaga gives the Cubs the kind of flexibility depth to potentially even have a six-man rotation and ease the stress on arms to hopefully prevent more injury.

Making 126 starts with a 3.63 ERA and 13.4 bWAR over the last four years, Gallen is among the most dependable pitchers in baseball and could be the exact final swing-and-miss type piece this rotation has been missing.

If it's on a low-risk short-term deal, this becomes a no-brainer for Chicago. Time will tell to see if Hoyer and the front office can get it done.

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