The All-Star Game is soon to get underway. Kicking off the festivities on the mound: Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen and Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.
The two pitchers were acquired by their respective clubs at very different stages of their careers. Cole had established himself as arguably the sport’s best pitcher by the 2019-20 offseason. He’d join the Yankees on a nine-year, $324MM free agent contract that shattered the record for the largest pitching deal in MLB history. 519 innings of 3.19 ERA ball later, the Yankees are surely happy with that investment.
Gallen landed in Arizona well before he was established as an MLB starter. Originally drafted by the Cardinals, he was dealt to the Marlins as a prospect alongside Sandy Alcantara, Magneuris Sierra and Daniel Castano in the lopsided Marcell Ozuna trade over the 2017-18 offseason. Gallen spent a year and a half in the Miami system, reaching the big leagues in June ’19.
A rookie starter on a then-noncompetitive Miami club, Gallen wasn’t on many people’s radar as a viable trade candidate going into the 2019 deadline. The Fish and Diamondbacks ignored traditional competitive windows and lined up on the extremely rare swap of top young talents: a one-for-one deal that sent Gallen to Phoenix for Double-A middle infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Swapping highly-regarded prospects at positions of need is far more common in fan speculation than it is in practice. Organizations are typically reluctant to surrender quality controllable talent. Clubs liked those players enough to acquire and develop them in the first place; it’s only natural if teams tend to value their in-house talent more than other organizations might.
Going into the 2019 season, Chisholm was generally regarded as the superior prospect. The Bahamian infielder ranked 59th on Baseball America’s top 100 list and 32nd on Keith Law’s list (then at ESPN). His athleticism, switch-hitting ability and huge raw power made him a potential franchise middle infielder. Gallen was more generally perceived as a future strike-throwing #4 starter than a burgeoning ace.
Gallen flipped that script with a breakout 2019 campaign. He posted a 1.77 ERA over 14 Triple-A starts before his first call-up. He made seven starts with Miami, working to a 2.72 ERA with a strong 28.5% strikeout percentage in his first 36 2/3 frames. Arizona had to view Gallen as a potential top-of-the-rotation starter to make parting with Chisholm worthwhile.
They’ve been proven right in that evaluation. In parts of five seasons as a Diamondback, Gallen has worked to a 3.10 ERA through 539 1/3 innings. He’s striking out just over 27% of batters faced. The North Carolina product was a little walk-prone early in his career, but he has consistently cut into the free passes as he’s gotten more experience.
Only once has Gallen posted an ERA higher than this year’s 3.04 clip. His 4.30 mark in 2021 looks like a blip, as he followed up a career-low 2.54 last season with his All-Star first half. Of the 94 starters with 70+ innings, he’s in the top 25 in ERA (18th), strikeout rate (22nd at 26.5%) and SIERA (14th at 3.53).
Gallen has twice found himself on Cy Young ballots. He’s likely to land some support for a third season after picking up a deserved first All-Star selection. Gallen has been the clear staff ace for a resurgent Arizona club that went into the All-Star Break percentage points behind the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. He is eligible for arbitration for another two seasons.
While the trade leans in Arizona’s favor, Chisholm has tapped into a lot of the promise he’d shown as a minor leaguer. He connected on 14 home runs and swiped 12 bases in only 60 games last season, earning an All-Star nod of his own. Unfortunately, he couldn’t play in that game, as his campaign was ended on June 29 by a back injury.
The Fish moved Chisholm to center field to accommodate the acquisition of Luis Arraez over the offseason. Chisholm has gotten mixed reviews from public defensive metrics for his outfield performance. He’s hitting .246/.302/.443 with nine longballs and 14 steals over 183 trips to the dish this year. Injuries have again been a story, as he lost around a month to turf toe on his right foot and is currently on the injured list with an oblique strain.
While the repeated health questions are surely frustrating for Chisholm and the organization alike, he’s flashed the ability to be a franchise building block. Controllable through 2026, he figures to play an everyday role in South Florida for the next few seasons.
In spite of Chisholm’s two absences, Miami is 14 games over .500 and in possession of the National League’s top Wild Card spot. That’s in large part thanks to an excellent rotation. Miami’s starting staff would be better if Gallen were a part of it — every team’s would — but the Fish are as well suited as any club to surrender quality pitching for a potential impact position player. They took a similar approach last offseason, sending Pablo López to Minnesota for Arraez.
Overall, both clubs probably feel strongly about their evaluation of the young player they acquired four seasons ago. Gallen has been healthier and the more valuable player to this point, but Chisholm is one of the top hitters on a Marlins’ club that skews toward pitching. While trades like this don’t happen frequently, the surprising Gallen-Chisholm swap has been impactful for a pair of the NL’s upstart contenders.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Just stop bringing up the first trade please.
John Mozeliaks recent resume is hauntingly similar to the reason the Kansas City A’s moved to Oakland…. Because they were the triple A affiliate for New York…
Yeah… Randy Arozarena, Lane Thomas, Zac Gallen, Sandy Alcantara… and for a moment there Luke Voit… I did believe Montero was gonna join that list as well and am shocked Luke Weaver and Gomber haven’t as well? Carson Kelly says What’s up? Like this is a Eminem song and we’re only giving you things you joke about in your living rooms?
We still love him though, even if he’s getting kick backs from hemmoraging all of that talent due to Space Jam…
Clearly the snakes won that trade as of now. Jazz may be the most overrated player in the game.
Except that Jazz Chisholm is rarely “in the game”. He spends 80% of his time on the IL and working on his dance moves.
Vlad Jr is on line 2 and wants to discuss the “crown” of being the most overrated player. He doesn’t want that crown taken quite yet.
The Cardinals traded Alcantara, Arozarena, AND Gallen? Wow.
Who was running that farm system?
And whose brilliant idea was it to stop the tradition of players wearing their team uniforms for the game and dress them in ugly ASG unis? To me, all the different uniforms together on the field was what made it fun to watch.
The person running the farm system doesn’t make trades. That person is running baseball operations. The person drafting and running the farm system is great.
Of course. Once upon a time, your buddy Whitey Herzog was running the Mets farm system when they traded Amos Otis, Nolan Ryan, and Ken Singleton. Ouch.
He walked away soon after.
And then Herzog made it a thing of beating the Mets when they had the best team that the Mets franchise ever had. All that talent, and they still couldn’t beat Herzog’s Cardinals.
In addition to trading the young guys he didn’t want them to, they passed over him and named Yogi Berra manager when Gil Hodges died in 1972.
That was when he left to become manager of the Texas Rangers in 1973. It’s probably why he had a hard on to beat the Mets in the 1980s.
Yeah, he made a thing out of beating the Mets. Although he did misfire on pushing Keith Hernandez out of town to the Mets. He thought sending his clubhouse drug problem ring leader couldn’t come back, but 86 did come back. But other than that, he had more joy against the Mets than they had at his expense…from Terry Pendleton’s HR, to Vince Coleman to the entire Cardinals team exposing Mackey Sasser, etc. etc. etc. during the 80s.
Herzog was and probably still is the master of Small Ball.
What he did with the Mets doesn’t concern me. What he did in KC and St. Louis landed him in the Hall of Fame.
@CardsFan57: Indeed.
I’m all for players wearing their home uniforms at the ASG.
Pet names and dress up days…..get used to it…..it’s the new, more understanding America.
Adolis Garcia as well.
No room for Adolis either
This trade alone certainly puts the Cardinals current on field results into perspective. That being said, it’s fun watching the Fish in contention and was great seeing them take 2 of 3 from the Phillies recently.
That’s a fact….Arozarena, Gallen, Alcantara…Redbirds would be in a far different place today. Hindsight as they say, but those 3 in particular, just painful.
There’s really no guarantee that those 3 guys turn out the same in STL.
Jack Flaherty looked like a pillar at SP a few years ago…..not so much now. You have to develop the talent.
Don’t forget Adolis Garcia.
The Cardinals also could have had the Marlins’ manager as their own if they had chosen wisely.
@Cleon Jones: Like the Mets trading Amos Otis, Nolan Ryan, and Ken Singleton in days of old.
As a Marlin fan, I can definitely say that Arizona won that Gallen for Chisholm swap so far. If healthy, Chisholm is a 30/30 guy but Gallen has been an ace up to this point. Hope Jazz can turn his health around.
Glad you are pleased but it’s much easier to find a 700 800 ops bat than a 2 or 3 era arm. Gallen has been fantastic and still has 2 more seasons left. Jazz ain’t catching him. Not coming close. Not even with these mythical 30 30 seasons.
The thing with the Jazz and Gallen trade is that I don’t see it as a major loss for the Marlins. They traded away Marcel Ozuna and got back Alcantara and Jazz. Obviously if they kept Gallen or traded Lopez (who I think was the D-Backs original preference), it would’ve been a bigger win for the Marlins over the Cardinals in that trade.
But the deal wasn’t Ozuna for Jazz and Sandy.
As for the 30/30 thing, I don’t see Jazz doing that. due to the HRs. He can certainly reach the SBs, especially with the bigger bases now, but the HR part will be hard for him, especially in Marlins/LoanDepot Park. Now if Jazz can become an All-or-Nothing guy, then I could see the 30 HRs, but then the SBs will be sacrificed a bit due to less hits due to the HR increase and less batting average and OBP due to swinging for the fences.
But with his skill, maybe he can have one season where he touches 30 HRs in his career, but he has to stay healthy first, and it’d have to be a big year or a move to another park…like Coors, Citizens Bank or Wrigley’s.
In parts of 4 seasons, Jazz has 43 career Homeruns and 51 SB, exactly where do you get that he projects to 30/30?..his highest season of homeruns is 18 and his highest season of steals is 23 and those were both 2 yrs ago in ’21, the only year he’s taken over 400 ABs.
Have you tried protating last years stats…
Merrill Kelly was another great find by Hazen. Without these two, the Dbacks are a fourth place team.
His prorated numbers this year come pretty close, even with the repeated injuries.
In fairness to Jazz, he’s a dynamic five tool player when the healthy. The same could also be said of Byron Buxton.
That’s a pretty good comp. Both guys are dynamic when in the field.
“When the healthy”…if you have to qualify their ability, then they’re not that good. The best ability is availability. For all their hype and Buxton’s 100 million dollar contract, Jazz and Buxton combined have only been worth 1.2 W.A.R this yr, a total seemingly way out of line with the amount of press they get.
@MLB I take it u r one of those follow stats not watch the game types. Yes Buxton by all means at this point has deserved his injury prone label. Anyone who has watched him can not miss his talent and that is why he gets press. Jazz also has talent one can not miss, but unfortunately he to is starting to seem as tho he is injury prone.
Hopefully both can put together a string of healthy seasons, players with their talents help the sport as a whole.
Sorry, but teams are looking to put the most competitive product on the field, even if one of the players only stays healthy for say, 100 games. Depth is a necessity given the skyrocketing injuries. Both Minnesota and Miami have offensive issues far larger than Chisholm and Buxton.
Buxton is the wnd highest paid player on their team. Buxton has only played say 100 games once in his 9 seasons. Yes teams need depth, but any team missing a player who they ve committed the financial resources they have Buxton for more than a 3rd of season every year has an impact.
Jazz does not weigh the same financial burden on his team, but both of them are supposed to b focal points of their lineups. So losing players of their stature is a void that’s rarely filled.
And yes teams do look to put the most competitive team on the field. Both the Twins and Marlins are less competitive without them in the lineup. Their offensive woes only get exponentially worse with players such as Jazz and Buxton missing from their lineups.
Both of them also ended up on their respective teams at the cost of a front of rotation arm. So no “say 100 games” is in no way as easily dismissed as “well we need depth”.
Buxton was drafted by the Twins. No one has ever said draft picks were a sure thing.
Yes I gor confused for a second with Marlins giving up Lopez for Arraez. Buxton’s worth is no longer weighed against him being a 2nd overall pick. His worth is weighed against his $100 million extension and being the player the Twins are 2nd most invested in. A played of his talent who his team is so heavily invested is a talent the team was relying on to b on the field at most times. And despite what his value is to his team, for the sport as a whole, the game is better when it’s most talented players are showcased for the fans.
More lame comments in this thread. Between him and Tim Anderson you would think they were out murdering people.
Injuries happen. To compare a guy who has been healthy to a guy that has been hurt is not really fair.
Mute button is your friend if you that triggered by trolls so easily.
It’s not just 1 or 2 people.
Hey if this is simply a bunch of old white men criticizing other races I will find out and if so I won’t be here long.
Hopefully it’s just a coincidence but I don’t think that’s the case.
T.A. lucky he had Gerry Spence in his corner or it would have been the chamber..
Are you referring to Jazz and Buxton? If so both have yet to play a full season, so I’d say it might not b all that bad of a comparison unfortunately. I’d b surprised if Jazz misses time consistently the next 5 years, but he is trending in that direction.
With Buxton, even if he does string together some healthy seasons I think we ll never truly know what could of been. He’s almost 30 and speed never ages well. So even if he has some healthy and productive seasons, I think we ll b left with what could ve been.
Jazz Chiiizzzm Junior. Face of baseball hands down.
Yeah he got the cover on that popular MLB video game right? Kind of a head scratcher when you have guys like Acuña, Ohtani, Betts, and JRod to choose from.
Love this sort of retrospective analysis and trade discussion. Great article. Kudos and thanks for your great work.
36 million a year and an opt-out is certainly not worth it for a 3.19 ERA. See Nathan Eovaldi
I am not a Marlins fan but I couldn’t believe they traded Gallen. No, he wasn’t “established” but if you watched him his rookie season he was incredibly impressive. He had command of the strike zone like no rookie I have seen and a plus fastball and a plus plus change up. He’s been my favorite pitcher to watch since his rookie year, and other than a tough 2021 where he dealt with an injury he’s been dominant since arriving.
The Marlins then ( and now) favor big fastball, great change up starting pitching. The only one not fitting that mold currently is Braxton Garrett. Who has arguably been their most effective starter this year. He has also seems to be discussed most often as their most tradeable pitcher, likely not by the club but by fans. Gallen and Garrett are similar set them up and then trick them type of pitchers. I think the Marlins undervalued what they had in Gallen and felt that he was a notch below what they had in the pipeline at the time, and with little to no emerging hitters in house Gallen was expendable. Chisholm has been more sizzle than results, and has been as hard to keep healthy as Stanton used to be. He is a fan favorite though and it will be difficult for management to move forward with a large commitment to a player who can’t stay on the field. He seems to have toned down his dyed hair, social media style this year, and I see a little more mature Jazz this year, would just love to see him on the field more