Would Giants Boss Buster Posey Sign Free-Agent Ace He Faced as Player?

The benefit of someone like Buster Posey in the San Francisco Giants’ front office is that he isn’t that far removed from the game.

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San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey didn’t stop playing baseball that long ago.

The catcher’s last Major League season was in 2021. He’s creeping up on opening his window for consideration for the Baseball Hall of Fame. At 38 years old, it’s not a stretch for Posey to put on the equipment and get back in the crouch behind the plate, though there’s no need with defensive ace Patrick Bailey there now.

The point is Posey is still in a position where he’s played with or against some of the players he could court in free agency. A good example is pitcher Zac Gallen, formerly of the Arizona Diamondbacks and a free agent that the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser recently reported that the team had spoken to.

Zac Gallen vs. Buster Posey

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Gallen joined the Majors in 2019 with the Miami Marlins after he was a third-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2016 MLB draft out of the University of North Carolina. The Marlins dealt him to the Diamondbacks at the 2019 trade deadline. He emerged as a reliable option for Arizona.

Along the way, he crossed paths with Posey as opponents. Looking at Posey’s all-time splits against the right-hander, he went 2-for-8 with a home run and two walks before he retired at the end of the 2021 season.

Gallen put together a rock-solid career in Arizona. If he’s done in the desert, he’ll leave with a career record of 65-49 with a 3.61 ERA with the Diamondbacks. He threw 971 innings, struck out 1,017 and walked 306. Batters hit .224 against him. He’s been remarkably consistent the last four seasons, winning at least 12 games. The one concerns is that his ERA has crept up each season, from 2.54 in 2022 to 4.83 in 2025.

He's finished in the Top 10 in National League Cy Young voting three times, including a third-place finish in 2023 when he made his only All-Star Game appearance and the Diamondbacks went to the World Series.

His value is dented a bit by a 2025 in which he went 13-15 with a 4.83 ERA in 33 starts for Arizona. He struck out 175 and walked 66. But his performance ticked up in the final two months, he’s durable and has thrown the third-most innings of any starter since the start of the 2022 season. Would-be future teammate Logan Webb leads that category.

Price could be the issue. MLB Trade Rumors projects Gallen could get a four-year deal at $80 million. The Giants are reportedly looking at budget options to fill out the rotation. Even at $20 million per year, Gallen might be a bit rich. But this is a case where Posey not only can rely on his scouts, but his own experience, in evaluating a free agent.