Zac Gallen was among the top pitchers in the National League from 2022 through 2024. The right-hander averaged 31 starts and 180.2 IP over those three seasons, pitching to a 3.20 ERA (131 ERA+) with 568 SO (9.4 K/9, 26.0 K%) and 148 BB (2.5 BB/9, 6.8 BB%). He was an All-Star and twice finished in the top five in Cy Young voting.

Heading into 2025, it looked like a sure thing that Gallen would end up landing a contract exceeding $100 million once he reached free agency following the season. Only, his production on the mound last season was a stark change from what the Diamondbacks had come to expect. Gallen’s 4.83 ERA (89 ERA+), 8.2 K/9 (21.5 K%), and 31 home runs allowed (1.5 HR/9) all marked career-worsts.

While he was coming off an awful season — and was saddled with having been extended a qualifying offer by Arizona, meaning any team that signed him would have to forfeit a draft pick — it still seemed like Gallen might draw interest in free agency when the offseason started. The free agent market was not loaded with rotation-changing arms this offseason, and several teams were known to be seeking upgrades to their starting rotations. The idea of Gallen landing a multiyear contract didn’t seem outrageous. MLBTR had Gallen at No. 15 on its Top 50 Free Agent list at the start of the offseason.

Ultimately, a market failed to materialize for the New Jersey-born 29-year-old. On Friday, as spring training camps got underway, Gallen returned to the Diamondbacks on a one-year contract valued the same as the QO he turned down in November ($22.025 million).

The result may be disappointing for Gallen — despite the clear comfort of returning to where he’s spent his whole career — but this is a certain win for the D-backs, especially when you consider the financial angle. $14 million of that salary will reportedly be deferred — paid in five installments of $2.8M from 2031-35 — so Gallen will only cost the team roughly $8 million in 2026. For a franchise insisting it wouldn’t enter 2026 with a payroll higher than 2025’s (roughly $195 million), the current-year savings are important.

More broadly, however, bringing Gallen back into the fold only strengthens Arizona’s projected rotation — adding him to a mix that includes Ryne Nelson, Brandon Pfaadt, Michael Soroka, 37-year-old Merrill Kelly, and the oft-injured Eduardo Rodriguez while the team waits for Corbin Burnes to return from Tommy John surgery (possibly after the All-Star Break).

Prospect evaluators were always high on Jurickson Profar as he came up through the minor leagues. Profar was viewed as a Top 10 prospect in the sport heading into the 2012 season, then moved up to the top overall spot across all major rankings heading into the 2013 season. Expectations were through the roof for the former shortstop that the Rangers were already moving around the diamond (he’d play three infield positions and the corner outfield before the end of his second season) in an effort to keep him in the lineup daily.

Injuries took a major toll on Profar’s early career, both keeping him off the field completely and limiting the success he’d find when able to play. He wouldn’t top 500 plate appearances in a season or produce at a better than league average rate (a 100 OPS+ is league average) until his sixth year in the league. It wouldn’t be until 2024 that he’d finally break out, batting .280/.380/.459 (134 OPS+) over 668 PA while hitting 29 2B and 24 HR with 85 RBI. Profar was an NL All-Star, won a Silver Slugger, and even received some down-ballot consideration for the MVP Award (finishing 14th).

Profar reached free agency after the 2024 season and was able to capitalize on the solid year, agreeing to a three-year, $42 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Things have not gone smoothly since.

Profar would test positive last spring for a performance-enhancing drug, resulting in an 80-game suspension. Profar produced when he returned to the Braves’ lineup, hitting .245/.353/.434 (121 OPS+) in 371 PA over the season’s final 80 games, but the Braves were largely out of contention in the NL East for the bulk of the season (finishing with a 76-86 record, good for fourth in the division).

Profar, it seems, was dealing with some discomfort during the final month of the 2025 season. Not wanting to abandon his teammates, Profar opted to just play through the pain. That discomfort returned after the season as he began his offseason workouts, leading to sports hernia surgery in late November. Profar may not be facing any physical restrictions in spring training, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, but the Braves are being cautious. Profar is projected to see most of his playing time this spring at the team’s designated hitter rather than returning to left field (where Mike Yastrzemski should get most of the playing time).

The 2026 college baseball season got underway this weekend, with most schools starting their schedules on Friday. It didn’t take long before there were some notable moments happening.

Georgia Tech outfielder Caleb Daniel hit a pair of home runs on Friday against Bowling Green, including an inside-the-park shot to lead off the third inning for the Yellowjackets’ first hit of the season.

Baylor first baseman Tyce Armstrong accomplished something on Friday that had only been done once in the history of college baseball: hit three grand slams in one game.

Armstrong, a senior transfer from UT Arlington, made a lasting impact in his debut game with the Bears. His grand slams came in the third, fourth, and seventh innings (he also struck out with two runners on base in the sixth). Armstrong hit .297/.386/.457 over his three seasons with the Mavericks.

Jim LaFountain, a catcher/first baseman for Louisville, was the only other player to accomplish the feat before Armstrong, having done so in March 1976.

Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell injured his shoulder diving for a ball during Friday’s game against UNC Greensboro. Bell was considered a candidate to go in the first round of this summer’s draft, but will now be out indefinitely.

West Virginia University outfielder Paul Schoenfeld stole home in the first inning of the Mountaineers game on Saturday against Georgia Southern. The fifth-year senior is in his first season with WVU after hitting .400/.467/.637 over the last three seasons at Colorado Mesa (junior college).

Seton Hall outfielder Justin Ford hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against Boston College, but came down awkwardly on his left ankle as he celebrated while rounding first base and appears to have broken his leg. The junior had to be taken off the field on a stretcher. Ford has hit .203/.364/.333 in just 89 PA over the first two years of his collegiate career.

USC pitchers Grant Govel and Cameron Fausset combined to throw seven no-hit innings against Pepperdine in an 11-0 Trojans victory on Saturday (cut short after seven innings due to the run rule).

Four players on the KBO’s Lotte Giants — second baseman Seung-min Go, outfielder Dong-hyeok Kim, first baseman Seung-yeup Na, and infielder Se-min Kim — are facing lengthy suspensions by the club (not to mention potential penalties from the KBO itself) after frequenting an illegal gambling establishment in Taiwan. The Giants are holding their spring training camp in Taiwan, where gambling is considered illegal. According to a report from the Korean outlet ChosunBIZ, the players went to what they believed was a legal video game arcade. Lotte has already relayed the incident to the KBO league offices.