The offseason can introduce a name into the spotlight and whisk it away just as quickly, which is exactly what happened when Zac Gallen was briefly mentioned as having a deal in place that never existed. What lingered for a moment was the price tag attached to that false start, a detail that carries weight when a pitcher like Michael King sits in a similar performance neighborhood for the New York Mets to consider. It turns a fleeting rumor into an early clue about how this market might behave.
Around that time, Jim Bowden published a prediction piece and placed Gallen within a new round of projected contracts.