Major Injury Could Derail Cubs Final Offseason Move
The more I think about it, Zac Gallen would be a great fit for the Chicago Cubs and he’d be the cherry on top of a very good offseason heading into the 2026 season. Veteran arm, durable, a long track record of success and while the totality of his previous year is rough, Gallen really only had a tough first half before turning the corner. Ideally, the Cubs can sign Gallen to a contract that allows him to only opt-out after multiple years, but that’s probably the sticking point in negotiations.
Now, the Cubs may have another hurdle to jump over and that might be a team way more desperate to add starting pitching than they are. Spring training is getting underway this week and as is annual tradition fans are going to be hit with some brutal injury updates. On Tuesday, a big one dropped for the Atlanta Braves as 25-year-old starter Spencer Schwellenbach was officially placed on the 60-day injured list.
Schwellenbach has recorded a 3.23 ERA in 38 career starts with the Braves since making his MLB debut during the 2024 season. Last year the righty posted a 3.09 ERA in 110.2 innings pitched, but a fractured elbow sidelined Schwellenbach for half the season. Braves manager Walt Weiss did not give a timetable for Schwellenbach’s return as the starting pitcher is expected to miss a significant portion of 2026 because of a setback to his pitching elbow.
Naturally, speculation has picked up following the injury news and Gallen now seems like a potential free agent target for the Braves. The main issue could be the Braves, or any other interested team, not wanting to give up a draft pick and IFA signing bonus money by signing Gallen, who has the qualifying offer attached to him this offseason.
Yet, for a team that is known to act fast when needing to address a need, the Braves may move up the list of interested teams for Gallen’s services, even if he insists on signing a contract that gives him the ability to opt out after one year. Gallen is still young enough in baseball years that at 30-years-old, the right-hander will want to rebuild his value and hit free agency again following this season.
A desperate team can certainly change a player’s market, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Gallen suddenly becomes a priority for the Braves.
As far as Cubs rumors for Gallen those haven’t slowed down in recent weeks. Chicago baseball insider Bruce Levine continues to bring up Gallen to the Cubs, while USA Today’s Bob Nightenagle once again listed the Cubs as one of the handful of teams showing the most interest in the former two-time, Cy Young Award finalist.
At this point, as much as I’d want Gallen on the Cubs it feels like he’ll just end up re-signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks. They don’t get penalized with the draft pick loss and because of it the Diamondbacks won’t mind as much if Gallen only stays for one more year before exploring the free agent market again.
Add in the Braves’ desperation to the equation and this might have derailed any chances of the Cubs ending up with Gallen heading into the 2026 season.