Zac Gallen Trolls Cubs Free Agency Signing Report With 'Contract' Tease

For a few minutes on December 6, Chicago Cubs fans thought they had acquired one of the best starting pitchers available on the free agency market.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today made an X post that morning that read, "The Chicago Cubs are close to finalizing an agreement with free-agent starter Zac Gallen on a multi-year deal that will pay him an average of $22 million a year. Gallen, with three top-10 Cy Young finishes, has averaged 32 starts a year for the past 4 seasons."

This sparked a frenzy of excited activity among the Cubs' social media community, given Gallen's pedigree. However, Nightengale's report was premature.

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen (23) throws a pitch on September 26, 2025 — Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen (23) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. | David Frerker-Imagn Images

After several other notable MLB insiders disputed the report that Gallen has signed with Chicago, Nightengale edited his original post so that it read:

"UPDATE: The Chicago Cubs are HOPEFUL of finalizing an agreement with free-agent starter Zac Gallen on a multi-year deal, but the deal is NOT DONE with others still in contention. Gallen, with three top-10 Cy Young finishes, has averaged 32 starts a year for the past 4 seasons."

Of course, the Cubs had nothing to do with this inaccurate report and therefore deserve no blame. But it still isn't the best look for the franchise.

Zac Gallen Marriage Post Trolls Cubs Signing Report

Signing a free agency contract seemed to be the last thing on Gallen's mind on December 6. Bruce Levine of Marquee Sports Network revealed this on December 8, when he said, "On Saturday, when this rumor came out that [Gallen] is going to sign with the Cubs, he was actually in Cabo, getting married. So the contract he was signing was not with the Cubs, but it was with his new wife who he's getting married to," per an X post from Marquee Sports Network.

"So it'd be kind of hard to have the wedding night, have their honeymoon, and get your physical all at the same time," Levine added with a smirk.

Gallen confirmed this with an Instagram post on December 8 that showed him and his new wife's left hands, complete with wedding rings. The post was captioned, "The only contract signed this weekend".

Many people are finding this caption hilarious in the post's comments. One of those who responded was free agent infielder Alex Bregman (who the Cubs are very interested in signing), who wrote, "😂 congrats bro 🔥".

Perhaps Gallen will still sign with Chicago, as this troll wasn't directed at them, as opposed to Nightengale and his inaccurate reporting.

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