The Blue Jays need help at the top of the rotation, and Michael King stands out as one of the more intriguing ways to get it done.
Toronto could still get involved if Tarik Skubal enters the picture, but King offers a different kind of appeal: a proven starter with experience, the ability to work deep into games and a history of overpowering hitters when he’s right. At 31, he’s coming off a 185-inning season with the San Diego Padres after a 2025 campaign that was interrupted by physical issues and limited him to 15 starts.
There’s risk here, of course. King’s advanced numbers suggest he hasn’t fully recaptured the level that made him one of the National League’s best starters in 2024, when he produced 4.0 fWAR. His 4.33 xFIP was his highest since 2021, even though he also showed real durability by going at least five innings in 28 of his 32 starts.
Still, the fit in Toronto is obvious. King would slot nicely behind Dylan Cease in the first two spots of the rotation, with Jose Soriano and Trey Yesavage following, giving the Blue Jays a much sturdier front end and less uncertainty in the back half.
The peak version of King was on display in 2024, when he struck out 201 batters in 173 ⅔ innings with a 2.95 ERA and a 3.50 xFIP. This past season, even with 11 ⅓ more innings, he finished with 159 strikeouts, and his K/9 fell from 9.33 to 7.74, the lowest mark of his career in any season with at least 50 innings pitched.
He also landed in the 38th percentile in strikeouts and the 46th in whiff rate, a clear step back from his 2024 dominance. But the contact quality tells a more encouraging story. King finished in the 89th percentile in Hard Hit% allowed and the 66th in ground balls, which helped offset the dip in swing-and-miss.
His changeup and sweeper were central to that. The changeup posted a Run Value of +12, and hitters managed only a .276 slugging percentage against it.
The sweeper was even nastier in some ways, limiting opponents to a .221 xBA and producing the second-highest whiff rate in his arsenal at 27.7%. His sinker, meanwhile, was his most-used pitch, but it took a step back, with its strikeout rate falling from 29.9% to 19.7% and its slugging percentage allowed climbing to .454.
FanGraphs projects King for four years and $100 million, or a $25 million average annual value. That price tag looks steep, but the case for it is there: behind Tarik Skubal, King owns the highest Run Value in Pitching among free agents at +19, and he’s just shown he can handle 185 innings while performing like a rotation starter in both the regular season and the playoffs.
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