Michael King has become the Padres’ one-man answer to a rotation that is hanging by a thread.
Since June 4, San Diego has had a starter finish six innings only five times, and every one of those outings has belonged to King. That’s not just a neat stat.
It’s the clearest snapshot of why the Padres keep drifting around .500 instead of pulling away from the pack. Their rotation is basically a nightly race to the bullpen, and King is the only one consistently slowing it down.
The broader numbers back that up. Padres starters have logged 432 innings this season, which ranks fourth-lowest in baseball. Only the Mets, Nationals and White Sox have gotten fewer innings from their rotation.
The run prevention has been just as rough. San Diego starters sit 27th in strikeouts per nine innings at 7.67, 26th with a 4.69 ERA and 27th with a 4.88 xERA.
That’s not a case of bad breaks or unlucky bounces. The production has been poor because the pitching has been poor.
Quality starts tell the same story. The Padres rank 29th in that category with just 17 all year, and King has accounted for more than half of them.
That leaves the rest of the staff in a tough spot, because even a decent offense would have a hard time covering for starts this short. The Padres have seen a little more from the lineup lately with Luis Campusano back, Miguel Andujar making the most of his chances, and Manny Machado maybe getting close to pushing his batting average over the Mendoza Line by the end of the month.
Still, even with that modest offensive uptick, the starting pitching hasn’t been good enough to carry the first five innings. The group remains near the bottom of the league in strikeout rate, ERA, expected ERA and length.
The bullpen, at least, has held up under the strain. Padres relievers lead the majors with 4.5 WAR, rank sixth with a 3.70 ERA and have already thrown 389 2/3 innings, the sixth-highest total in baseball.
That’s why King’s name is going to keep surfacing as the trade deadline gets closer. If the Padres decide to sell, teams will ask about him.
They should be allowed to. But at this point, San Diego might be better off declining the conversation.
There is a scenario where moving King could work, but it would take an overwhelming offer and an acceptance that this season is over. Anything less would be a mistake.
The Padres can’t afford to deal away the only starter giving them reliable innings and then act like the rotation still has a pulse. With King in the rotation, it’s already one of the weakest groups in the league.
Without him, it becomes something much worse.
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