Michael

King

Passan adds that Kyle Schwarber, Bo Bichette, Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Ranger Suarez, Edwin Díaz, Zac Gallen, Shota Imanaga, Michael King, Trent Grisham, Gleyber Torres and Brandon Woodruff are the other dozen impending free agent to receive the tag prior to Thursday evening’s deadline. They have until Tuesday, November 18 to decide whether to accept the one-year deal or decline and become free agents. Only 14 of 144 players to receive a qualifying offer since 2012 have actually accepted it. It’s worth noting that players who were on multiple teams — Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez — along with players who have previously received a qualifying offer — Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman — were ineligible to receive one this offseason.

King can either accept the offer and return to San Diego on the one-year deal, or decline it and become an unrestricted free agent. The 30-year-old right-hander declined his $15 million mutual option last week to hit the open market this offseason. He was limited to just 15 starts this past season due to shoulder and knee injuries after finishing seventh in NL Cy Young Award balloting during his Padres debut the previous year. He’s one of the more intriguing talents in the free agent pool this offseason given his combination of age and upper-echelon talent.

No surprise here. King will test the open market this offseason in search of a long-term deal after receiving a $3.75 million buyout. The 30-year-old right-hander — who finished seventh in NL Cy Young Award balloting with San Diego in 2024 — was limited to 15 starts this past season due to shoulder and knee issues but still posted a strong 3.44 ERA and 76/26 K/BB ratio across 73 1/3 innings. He remains one of the more intriguing arms in this year’s free-agent class given how effective he’s been since transitioning to a full-time starter with the Yankees back in 2023.

King pitched well in his final regular-season start, but he was limited to only 49 pitches after missing months with a shoulder injury. Padres manager Mike Shildt believes King will be more valuable as a bulk reliever out of the bullpen, perhaps following either Dylan Cease or Yu Darvish if either struggles in their respective starts. King, of course, was a tremendous reliever for the Yankees before becoming a starter, so he should be solid in this role for the Padres in this series.

King struck out three batters on the night while issuing a pair of walks. He threw 27 of his 49 pitches for strikes in the contest, getting seven whiffs and posting a CSW of 31 percent. The 30-year-old right-hander finishes the season with a 3.44 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 76/26 K/BB ratio over 73 1/3 innings in his 15 starts. He isn’t expected to have any sort of workload limitations in the postseason.

King gave up four hits, walked four and struck out four. He bounced back in a big way after he was hammered for eight runs against the Mets in his last start. King has a 3.57 ERA and 73/24 K/BB ratio in 70 2/3 innings this year. He’s lined up to face the Diamondbacks at home in the final weekend of the regular season.

King had already allowed three runs when he gave up a two-run homer to Brett Baty in the first. Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso added solo shots in the second, and Cedric Mullins knocked him out of the game with a homer to open the fourth. It’s the second time in his career that King has given up four homers and the first time he’s allowed eight runs. His velocity was pretty normal, but he again failed to miss bats. In two starts since coming off the IL, he’s allowed six homers and struck out four in eight innings. He’s due to face the White Sox on Sunday.

King was activated from the injured list ahead of Tuesday’s start, his first since August 9. He surrendered a solo homer to Sal Stewart in the first inning. Will Benson followed with a solo blast in the second. King gave the Padres three more scoreless frames, collecting two strikeouts over five innings on 63 pitches. Overall, a solid return for the 30-year-old right-hander. He’ll take a 2.87 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 67/20 K/BB ratio across 62 2/3 innings into a start against the Rockies in San Diego on Sunday.

King makes his return to San Diego’s rotation to face the Reds on Tuesday night at Petco Park. The 30-year-old ace has been snake-bitten by injuries this season with shoulder and knee ailments costing him nearly four months. He’s made only one start in the big leagues since May 18. He’s been outstanding this season from a performance standpoint, when healthy, posting a sparkling 2.81 ERA and 65/19 K/BB ratio across 57 2/3 innings over 11 starts.

King hasn’t made an official rehab start since going on the IL with knee inflammation three weeks ago, but he did throw five innings at the spring training facility in Arizona last week. The start tomorrow will be just his second in the majors since he hurt his shoulder in May. He’s essentially replacing the injured Nestor Cortes in the Padres rotation.