Michael King didn’t make any big declarations about his future with the Padres after Game 4 of the National League Division Series, but he didn’t hide how much San Diego has meant to him either.
His contract situation is suddenly one of the biggest storylines of the winter. King is entering the possible second year of a three-year, $75 million deal, and he’s due $58 million over the next two years if he stays put and doesn’t opt out. For now, he’s treating that decision as exactly what he called it: a “future decision.”
“This is where we started a family,” King said. “We started our foundation here.
San Diego's been incredible for me, and it's all the way across the country from home. But now I feel like I have a second home on the West Coast, so it's been awesome.
And yeah, I hope to continue.”
What makes the opt-out conversation so loud is the season King just put together. The 31-year-old right-hander completed his third year in San Diego and eighth in the majors, and he looked every bit like a frontline starter. In a career-high 32 starts, he went 3.21 ERA with 159 strikeouts and a 1.17 WHIP across 185 innings.
He also held things together for a Padres rotation that was battered by injuries. San Diego had to lean on its bullpen all year because the starting staff kept running into uncertainty, and King was the one arm they could count on. During the postseason, he was the only Padres starter to work five innings.
That kind of performance makes him a major name to watch if he does hit free agency. King is set to enter his age-32 season, and he’d draw plenty of attention alongside pitchers such as Tarik Skubal, Trevor Rogers and Freddy Peralta.
The expectation is that he’ll probably opt out, though the Padres will have a real shot to keep him in the mix. And they’ll need to. Bringing King back looms as a key priority because the rest of the rotation is loaded with questions.
Walker Buehler is also headed for free agency after what the team hopes was a revival season in San Diego. Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito both have mutual options that are likely to be declined. Joe Musgrove made it back in the playoffs, but health has been a problem for him over the last two seasons.
San Diego finished 91-71 in 2026, good for second place in the National League West for the third straight year. The Padres are still chasing their first division title since 2006, and sorting out the rotation will be a huge part of whether they get there.
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