Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

D-backs pitcher believes Cardinals traded him for bizarre reason

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 5/12/23

Zac Gallen never got to pitch in a Major League game for the St. Louis Cardinals, the team that drafted him. Traded by St. Louis before making his MLB debut, Gallen recently revealed the bizarre reason he believes the Cardinals made the move.

A guest on "Foul Territory" this week, Gallen explained that after missing two offseason camps in 2017, the Cardinals pressured him into attending a third, only to deal him while he was at the airport to catch a flight home.

"They made this big deal about me coming down to the camp," Gallen said. "I get to the exit meeting, they're like, 'You really didn't have to be here, thanks for coming down though.' They made his whole big stink about me coming down, and on the way home, they traded me."

"On the way home, they traded me ... You know the Cardinals, you know they got their certain ways about how they go about some things."@zacgallen23 talks about the potential reason he was traded from St. Louis. pic.twitter.com/kHSCMCw4T9
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 11, 2023

A 21-year-old prospect at the time, Gallen admitted to missing the first two camps in October and November. Still, after some push and pull, he attended camp in December only to be sent packing to Miami.

"I'm not saying don't go to camps for all the minor leaguers out there," Gallen said. "But my thought was I just got done playing the season, and I'm going to handle my business in the offseason. And you're not paying me in the offseason."

The Cardinals' response to Gallen missing camps may seem odd or even a bit overboard, especially since he begrudgingly accepted eventually. But, as Gallen notes, the Cardinals do things their way.

"If you know the Cardinals, you know they got their certain ways about how they go about some things," Gallen said.

Things have worked out well for Gallen. The 27-year-old is in his fifth season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and is coming off a breakout 2022 campaign where he finished fifth in the Cy Young Award voting.

This season, Gallen has picked up where he left off. In eight starts for the Diamondbacks, Gallen is 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA.

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