The Padres agree with it Michael King to a three-year contract, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The deal includes opt-outs after each of the first two seasons. It’s a $75MM guarantee, Feinsand adds. King receives a $12MM signing bonus and a $5MM salary for the 2026 season. He will decide on a $28MM player option or a $5MM buyout next winter and will have a $30MM player option in 2028 if he doesn’t opt out.
It’s a surprise strike for a San Diego team that looked like it might lose King again Dylan Cease in free agency. It was unclear if they would have the ability to use shortstop to keep either pitcher. While they weren’t expected to come close to the $210MM guaranteed Cease received, they will bring King back on a short-term deal to help the rotation that was their top priority this offseason.
The 2026 season will be the righty’s third in San Diego. The Padres found King as their center Juan Soto return in the 2023-24 offseason. He ran with a limited chance to get around late in his final year in the Bronx after years of hard work coming out of the bullpen. San Diego committed to him as a full-time starter and was awarded a career season in 2024.
King reached a 2.95 earned run average with 201 strikeouts over 173 2/3 innings in his first full season out of the rotation. He finished seventh in the NL Cy Young voting. King entered his walk year as a candidate for a nine-figure contract. He looked his way to a $150MM+ deal after coming off an even better start to the ’25 campaign. He posted a 2.59 ERA while striking out 28.4% of the batters he faced in his first 10 starts.
The Padres scratched King in his May 24 exit with tightness in his throwing shoulder. Manager Mike Shildt initially dismissed it as a minor issue that arose when the midfielder was sleeping inappropriately. It proved to be a very big problem. King went on the injured list with what the team called inflammation. They then determined it was a nerve injury that comes with an unfavorable return timeline. He went missing for about three months.
King returned on August 9. He made one start before going down with left knee inflammation. That cost him another month, and he didn’t get that close when he returned for good in September. King did not go past five innings in any of his last four starts. He gave up 10 runs in a combined 15 2/3 innings. Most of the damage came in an eight-run loss at the hands of the Mets on September 16. The King’s last two games were scoreless, but those came with an uninspiring 7:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
It is clear that the Padres did not fully trust Ngonyama as he will enter October. They choose Nick PivettaStop, again Yu Darvish starting in their Wild Card Series loss to the Cubs. King’s only playoff action was one scoreless inning in the decisive Game 3. He struck out three of four batters while averaging 95.6 MPH on his fastball. That was his highest single-game hitting streak of the season. That’s to be expected during a one-inning appearance with the high adrenaline of a must-win game, but it was an encouraging sign of the health of his shoulder.
San Diego issued a qualifying offering of $22.025MM. It was an easy call for King to come down looking for a multi-year contract. This plan works like a cushion contract but with a much higher floor than the one year that QO can offer. The King will earn $17MM in the first season of the deal and will collect a $5MM buyout if he opts out. If he jumps well enough to take that route, the result will be the same as if he accepted a suitable offer. Two more guaranteed seasons give him more injury protection.
More to come.
