The Padres are staring at a rotation that could look very different in short order, and Michael King sits right at the center of it.
San Diego needs starting pitching, and the front office is already working the market. The club is meeting with Tarik Skubal, and another report linked the Padres to Dustin May, which shows how aggressively they’re trying to line up help. Even with that push, there’s still a real chance King winds up elsewhere.
Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball projected King to land with the Chicago Cubs on a four-year, $135 million deal, a contract that would carry a $35 million average annual value. That would be a major jump from the $25 million AAV in the three-year, $75 million deal King signed last offseason before opting out.
The expectation was always that King would test the market if he pitched well, and he absolutely did that. He was San Diego’s best starter by a wide margin and delivered a huge postseason, including a bullpen appearance in the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers.
There are still reasons teams may hesitate to go longer than four or five years. King is 32, and injuries cost him a good chunk of the 2025 season. That makes a shorter deal with a bigger annual salary more appealing for a team like the Cubs, who would be betting on him to hold down ace duties for the next few seasons.
Just Baseball ranked King as the No. 2 player on its list, behind Skubal, and there’s a chance he waits to see where Skubal lands before making his own move. If a team misses out on Skubal, King could be the next big name to cash in.
The Padres still want him back, and that remains an important detail. But with the clock ticking before the MLB lockout, King is one of the top pitchers to watch as the market starts to take shape.
In Other News...
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Frances appeal is obvious enough from a Padres perspective, since his recent production showed the kind of steady bat that can fit into a lineup without much fuss. The question for New York is whether that level of output is sustainable and whether the fit justifies the risk, especially with first base being one of the spots they want to address decisively. For now, France is simply one of the more interesting names in the mix, but his market could say plenty about how aggressive the Mets plan to be. [Read more 🡒]
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For a Padres front office juggling infield alignment and a pitching rotation budget, that kind of move could solve more than one issue at once. It would open the door to shifting Tatis out of right field and back onto the dirt, while also adding another dynamic bat to a lineup that could use the boost. The question now is whether the fit is realistic enough to become more than just an internal idea as the offseason takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Former A's Outfielder Is Fighting For Another Shot
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Stevenson is expected to battle for a corner outfield job with Triple-A El Paso next spring, a spot that could put him back in the conversation if he performs well. For a Padres club trying to keep its depth chart flexible, these kinds of low-risk additions can matter, especially when the roster picture is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]