Zac Gallen called it an “honor” to be named the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day starter once again, but the right-hander admitted to some bittersweet feelings on Wednesday about the way it played out.
Manager Torey Lovullo had originally tabbed right-hander Merrill Kelly as his starter on March 26 at Dodger Stadium, but had to pivot after Kelly experienced back discomfort last month that delayed his progression.
While this will be Gallen’s fourth Opening Day start, it would have been Kelly’s first.
“I know what it means, personally, for me to start Opening Day; I can’t imagine what it means for him being a local guy and finally getting an opportunity and then just having an unfortunate circumstance of not being healthy enough,” Gallen said. “I feel for him in that sense. It’s not something I take lightly. I understand it’s an honor.”
People are also reading…
The decision to go with Gallen is a mild surprise. Not only is he coming off a down year in which he posted a 4.83 ERA in 33 starts, but right-hander Ryne Nelson had a terrific 2025 season, logging a 3.39 ERA in 154 innings.
“Zac has done a lot right for this organization,” Lovullo said. “I think they’re all going to have the right heartbeat, they’re all going to be fine taking the bump on Opening Day. I just felt like Zac deserved it. I know it wasn’t a pristine year for him, but he battled, he fought, he showed some resilience in the second half of the season, got himself on the right track. And he chose the Arizona Diamondbacks again, and I’m glad for that.”
Said Gallen: “I know there are probably some people who don’t think I deserve it. It is what it is. I need to go out there and have a better year this year and have a little bit better results than last Opening Day.”
Gallen gave up four runs in four innings against the Chicago Cubs in last year’s opener.
After turning down a qualifying offer from the D-backs in November, Gallen hit free agency in hopes of finding a strong multi-year deal but wound up circling back and signing a one-year, $22.025 million deal early in spring training to remain in Arizona.
Gallen threw three innings and 41 pitches on March 9, in his most recent spring outing.
He likely has two more outings to go this spring, meaning he could build his pitch count into the 70-pitch range before the end of spring. That puts him in a position to potentially throw somewhere in the neighborhood of five innings, as many as 85 pitches, against the Dodgers.
Kelly, meanwhile, threw a bullpen session earlier in the day and is lined up to start his first Cactus League game on March 13 in Surprise. Lovullo said Kelly will throw one inning and could face a batter or two in the second inning, depending on his pitch count.
Lovullo continues to make it sound like Kelly might face an uphill battle in his hopes of avoiding the injured list, in large part because he will not yet be fully built up and thus won’t be able to pitch into the middle innings.
Carroll says hand is 'manageable' after first game action
Corbin Carroll might not be pain-free, but he is back in the D-backs lineup and ramping up for Opening Day.
Carroll served as the designated hitter and took three at-bats against the Athletics at Salt River Fields on Wednesday, in what was his first game action of the spring. His camp has been delayed after he underwent surgery last month on a broken hamate bone in his right hand.
Carroll went hitless. He hit a hard ground ball to second in his first at-bat — exit velocity 113.6 mph — then flew to left and struck out in his next two trips to the plate.
“Felt fine,” Carroll said. “I mean, obviously, it’s not going to feel, you know, perfect. But manageable and just trying to work through it as best I can and make sure I’m ready to go.”
Carroll didn’t want to go into detail in terms of what he is feeling when he swings.
“I don’t really want to talk about how it feels,” he said. “It just is what it is, honestly. No point in getting caught up on it. Just kind of do what we can do.”
Carroll said he is using an Axe bat, a type that features no knob on the end, though he didn’t sound crazy about it.
“Not sure how long that’s going to last,” Carroll said. “It’s definitely less painful so I’m sticking with it for now.”
Though he said last week he hoped to play in 10 exhibition games before Opening Day, he said he has started to lean toward at-bats rather than games, which likely means more time in backfield games, where he can rack up at-bats more easily. He figures he could return to right field “probably soon enough.”
“The biggest thing is just getting in game shape hitting-wise,” he said. “Making sure that timing is getting back to a good spot. Start working some game plans in and making sure we’re good to go.”
