It looks like Michael King is staying in San Diego. The 30-year-old King will reportedly stick with the Padres on a three-year deal. His new contract comes after King, who finished in the top 10 of the NL Cy Young vote in 2024, had an injury-shortened 2025 campaign.
A Look at King
Two winters ago, the Padres acquired Michael King as part of the hefty return San Diego received for Juan Soto. King, who had a stellar final few weeks in 2023 out of the Yankees’ rotation, was arguably the headliner of the trade at the time for a Padres team in need of pitching. He lived up to the hype.
King finished his first full season as an MLB starter with 201 strikeouts during the 2024 season, along with a sub-3.00 ERA. The right-hander became a key piece of the Padres’ push to the playoffs in 2024, and he did his part in the postseason that year. King struck out 15 over 12 playoff innings.
During the 2025 season, though, King experienced his first roadbumps as a starting pitcher. King only threw 73.1 regular-season innings for the Padres this past season, as well as one inning in the playoffs. Injuries played a major role in that.
King suffered right shoulder inflammation in the spring, then missed time in August with knee inflammation.
This past season, the metrics were down for King. His Chase% dipped from 30.4% to 27.3%, while his Whiff% went from 29.3% to 25.8%. Additionally, King had a down season half with the Padres. He gave up six home runs over 15.2 IP in September, half of the total homers he surrendered in 2025 and over a quarter of his 2024 (17) total.
It was a stark departure from norms for King, a pitcher who doesn’t have a strong ground-ball lean but can induce them with both his sinker and changeup. Both pitches have been strong assets throughout his MLB career, although he’s changed his arsenal over the years (more on that in a bit).
King will set up his secondary stuff with two fastballs, a sinker that gets regular looks against lefties and righties. It’s also a pitch he’ll liberally use all over the zone and get ground-balls. That dynamic works well with the four-seam fastball, mainly reserved for working hitters up in the zone.
His fastball doesn’t have premium velocity but it has been a swing-and-miss pitch. It does help when King uses his changeup — which differs from the fastball by a velocity of seven to eight MPH — and sweeper with regularity.
However, King’s fastball got hit this season. Six resulted in home runs.
Additionally, King can change the look on hitters with a sweeper that he used less since coming to San Diego. Still, it’s a good weapon that he’ll use against both lefties and righties. King induced 30+% Whiff% rates on the pitch each of the last two years.
Per reports, Michael King will sign a three-year deal with the Padres, which includes player options for the 2027 ($28MM, $5MM buyout) and 2028 ($30MM) seasons. It’ll be worth $75MM in total and include a $12MM signing bonus, per MLB.com.
Analysis
For the Padres, this — on paper — is a win.
King, when healthy, has shown himself to be a potent strikeout pitcher who has high-end upside. Even if he opts out after 2026, the Padres can come out on top if King has a good season. San Diego would have to pay him $22MM, $5MM for the buyout, and $17MM for his signing bonus/salary.
But when taking into account where the pitching market is right now — remember, Dylan Cease had the same bWAR (4.1) as King in 2024, even though Cease had more strikeouts — as high-end pitchers can get $25-$30MM+ AAV.
It also means the Padres can pencil one more starter for their 2026 team. Again, Cease is gone, and Darvish will not be available for 2026. Assuming someone doesn’t get traded off the current roster, the Padres’ tentative rotation includes King, Nick Pivetta, a returning Joe Musgrove, plus JP Sears, Matt Waldron, and Randy Vasquez as back-end options.
For King, this is a bet on himself. He’ll stick in the National League with the Padres, a team he’s pitched well for over the past two seasons despite some hiccups.
Check out more of our MLB coverage.