The Boston Red Sox may have gotten a useful bit of encouragement in their search for pitching help. Michael King, the former Yankees right-hander who could be one of the more attractive names in this year’s free-agent class, has been floated as a possible East Coast fit - and that should matter in Boston.
King would check a lot of boxes for the Red Sox. He’s a Northeast product, he played for New York, and he went to Boston College. If Boston winds up losing Sonny Gray, a move for a younger arm like King would make plenty of sense.
There’s still plenty that has to shake out, starting with what King is actually looking for on the market. But the expectation is that he’ll be rewarded well, especially with this free-agent class not offering much depth. That’s where Boston could have an opening.
Patrick Mooney and Shadev Sharma of The Athletic recently wrote that King may prefer a return to the East Coast. They pointed to his background and his big year in making that case.
“The assumption is that King will elect to become a free agent after such a strong platform season (12-10, 3.21 ERA, 185 innings pitched) and playoff performance. Since he received a qualifying offer last offseason, the Padres can’t extend another one this time.
“If King, 31, doesn’t stay in San Diego, he may prefer options on the East Coast. He went to high school in Rhode Island, played at Boston College and excelled as a swingman for the New York Yankees,” Patrick Mooney and Shadev Sharma wrote.
King has also already proved he can handle the pressure of the AL East, which only adds to his appeal. After arriving as part of the Juan Soto trade that sent Soto to the Yankees a couple of years ago, he has turned himself into a legitimate starter. His postseason work this year only strengthened that case, and it’s clear he’s positioned to command serious money in the coming months.
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On a podcast, Cora went back over those weeks and said the teams struggles on the mound in April were what pushed the organization to make the move. The strange part is how different the season looked after that, because Bostons pitching settled in and finished among the best in baseball by ERA. It leaves the firing looking like one of those early-season decisions that can still echo months later, even when the numbers eventually turn around. [Read more 🡒]
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Abrams, in particular, could come back into the conversation because of the way his 2026 season unfolded. If Boston keeps looking for a long-term answer at short, the interest is already on record, and the question becomes whether the Nationals would be any more willing to deal now than they were a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]