The San Diego Padres have re-signed Michael King to a 3 year, $75M contract which will feature opt outs following the 2026 and 2027 MLB campaigns.
King was limited to just 15 contests in 2025 after dealing with knee and shoulder issues, but was fairly effective when healthy. Across 73.1IP the 30 year old registered a 5-3 record, with a 3.44 ERA and 76 punch outs.
The righty was tendered a $22.025M qualifying offer by the Padres, which he turned down to become a free agent this offseason. However, the long term deal he was seeking never materialized, paving the way for a return on what is effectively a 1 year deal, with injury protection built in.
If King puts together a statistically solid, and healthy year in 2026, it’s a virtual guarantee that he will opt out of the deal and once again test the free agent market. As part of the pact, King is set to receive a $12M signing bonus, with the former Yankee having already passed a team physical.
2026 will mark the 3rd season for King with the Padres after being part of the package that netted New York slugger Juan Soto. With Dylan Cease joining the Toronto Blue Jays in one of the largest off season signings to date, and Yu Darvish recently telling reporters that he’s unsure of his future in baseball after undergoing a 3rd surgery on his elbow, there will be plenty of innings available for King out west.
Barring any further additions to their rotation, San Diego looks like they’ll field a group of starters featuring King, Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, Randy Vasquez, and JP Sears. It’s likely that GM A.J. Preller will kick the tires on some back of the rotation depth pieces, as well as another bat at either 1st base or DH.
With King officially off the market, that leaves the likes of Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, and Zac Gallen in terms of MLB proven talent. Then there’s the highly sought after Japanese import Tatsuya Imai and some intriguing long relief/6th starter options remaining beyond that. All in all, it’s been a slow to develop pitching landscape thus far this offseason.
Photo: Jeffrey Hayes. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.