D-Backs’ Zac Gallen Unfazed by Dodgers’ Signing of Ohtani, Yamamoto

The Arizona Diamondbacks ace responded to Los Angeles’s offseason spending spree.

The Los Angeles Dodgers already have added Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in free agency this offseason, making them the favorites to win the 2024 World Series. However, they are still coming off a disappointing postseason, as the Arizona Diamondbacks swept them on their way to the National League pennant.

Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen was at the center of Arizona’s playoff run, and he revealed his reaction to Los Angeles’s spending spree in free agency.

“Ohtani didn’t surprise me much, maybe the size of the contract a little bit,” Gallen said on the Wolf and Luke show on KMVP-FM in Phoenix. “The Dodgers just kind of do what they do, which is spend money and try to put the best team out there they can to win a championship. But yeah, kind of crazy that they’re going out there and spending that much money.”

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen reacts to the Dodgers signings this offseason. @WolfandLuke pic.twitter.com/Mrv4QZrKhm

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) December 22, 2023

Arizona went 84-78 this past season, 16 games behind the Dodgers for first place in the NL West, but the Diamondbacks’ strong playoff run was the surprise of the MLB postseason. After losing to the Texas Rangers in five games in the World Series, Arizona made some positive additions in the offseason by adding Eduardo Rodríguez and Eugenio Suárez and bringing back Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Next season, the Diamondbacks once again will have to overtake the Dodgers in hopes of winning the NL West, something Arizona hasn’t done since 2011.