The Braves are officially at the point where the offseason starts taking shape, and one of the first names to emerge is a familiar one for teams hunting starting pitching: Michael King.
King shook up the market by opting out of the final two years of his three-year, $75 million deal with San Diego. That contract already carried a big number, but the move signals he’s probably looking for a longer commitment rather than just sticking with what he had left.
It’s not hard to see why he made the call. In 2026, King put together a huge season for the Padres, finishing with a 3.21 ERA, 70 walks, 159 strikeouts and a career-best 4.3 bWAR across 32 starts and 185 innings.
He stayed just as sharp in the postseason, where he logged a 0.64 ERA over 14 innings with five walks and 15 strikeouts. That kind of production is exactly the sort of thing Atlanta could use at the top of its rotation conversation.
His $25 million AAV already looked reasonable for that level of performance, and Spotrac now places his market value at just under $30 million per year. Getting him is likely going to require a long-term commitment in that neighborhood.
That’s where the Braves come in. Alex Anthopoulos has usually been cautious about handing out lengthy deals to free-agent pitchers, but the results of that approach haven’t exactly worked out in the last two seasons. If Atlanta wants a starter who can make an immediate difference, this is the type of arm worth pursuing.
Using that $30 million annual figure, a possible Braves offer could look like four years and $120 million, with a fifth-year player option added in. Atlanta usually prefers mutual options, but in this case a player option could be the cleaner way to structure the deal.
There’s another wrinkle, too: King is from the East Coast, which could help Atlanta’s pitch. At the same time, he has said he wants to return to the Padres.
San Diego has until November 2nd to negotiate exclusively with King before he reaches the open market. If the Padres get a deal done, the whole discussion disappears. If not, the Braves suddenly have a prime starting pitcher sitting right in front of them, and they’d be smart to act.
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Braves Still Have One Rotation Need Sonny Gray Could Solve
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Atlanta is among the clubs that make sense for Gray, alongside the Cubs and Padres, because each has reasons to keep looking for stability on the mound. For the Braves, the appeal is obvious enough: a rotation need remains, and a veteran arm like Gray fits the kind of move that could help close the gap without forcing a complete overhaul. No deal is in place yet, though, so this one stays in the category of fit rather than finished business. [Read more 🡒]