The Padres made a notable shuffle on the eve of the trade deadline, scratching Michael King from his scheduled Sunday start and pushing him to Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
That move comes at a time when King’s name is circulating in trade rumors. He has the ability to opt out of his contract after the 2026 season, which only adds another layer to a situation that could get complicated quickly before the 3 p.m. PT deadline.
Instead of King, San Diego will hand the ball to left-hander Kyle Hart, turning Sunday’s matchup into another bullpen game for the club. Hart was listed to start against the San Francisco Giants, while King was originally lined up for the next day in Arizona.
If King stays put, his new schedule lines him up for the series opener against the Diamondbacks, a game that comes just hours after the deadline. That would put him in position to pitch what could be a key series for the Padres against the team they’re chasing in the wild-card race.
On paper, dealing King would seem like a strange move for a club that has been trying to piece together enough starting pitching. But the possibility of his opt-out changes the calculus. San Diego could be more willing to chase controllable pitching by moving King, even if the return needs to be reshaped into something more useful down the line.
One route would be sending King to a contender for prospects, then using those prospects to land a starter with multiple years of team control. Another possibility is a more direct swap for a controllable arm. King has posted a 3.38 ERA with 109 strikeouts over 125.1 innings this season.
The Padres also rested Fernando Tatis Jr. on Sunday, giving him the day off before the important series against Arizona. Machado is serving as the designated hitter.
First pitch for Padres-Giants on Sunday, August 2 is set for 1:10 p.m. PT/4:10 p.m.
ET. The game will air on Padres.TV and in the MLB app, with radio coverage on 97.3 The Fan in English and XEMO 860 in Spanish.
In Other News...
Padres Reunion Buzz Just Put One Deadline Question In Focus
Luis Arraez has become one of the more familiar names to surface as the deadline nears, and for good reason. The Giants second baseman is putting together a strong offensive season, which has kept him squarely on the radar of clubs looking for help, with the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Guardians, Padres, Phillies and Rangers all showing some level of interest.
For San Diego, the attraction is easy to understand. Arraezs bat would fit just about anywhere, but the market around him is complicated by his impending free agency and the fact that he has dealt with minor health issues lately, which helps explain why nothing is moving quickly. Even with the buzz building around a possible reunion, there is still no indication a deal is close, leaving the deadline picture open for now. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Deadline Push Could Hinge On One Massive Bat
The Padres are again in the middle of deadline speculation, and this time the conversation has a familiar Preller feel to it: big swing, big name, big complications. With August 3 approaching, San Diego is being linked to the kind of impact bat that can change the tenor of a pennant race, even as the roster's existing long-term commitments make any major addition tougher to fit under the payroll sheet.
Rafael Devers has surfaced as the most intriguing possibility, but the fit is anything but simple. He has not matched expectations this season, his contract runs deep into the future, and there is no clarity yet on whether the Giants would be willing to absorb enough salary to make a deal workable. For the Padres, the question is not just whether they want a bat of that caliber, but whether the path to land him is even realistic. [Read more 🡒]