Did Padres affect contract extension chances with Michael King as they head to arbitration?

The Padres organization is currently in the midst of a turbulent time. A family lawsuit that is sure to shake up the inner workings of the club, multiple key players with unsure futures heading into the next season, and now to make matters a little more challenging, a Michael King issue. In a concerning turn of events, King and the Padres were unable to reach an agreement before the MLB's arbitration deadline on Thursday, possibly setting up the team for their first arbitration hearing since 2014.

After a breakout 2024 with the Padres following his acquisition from the Yankees in the Juan Soto trade, Michael King has placed himself into the upper echelons of the league's pitchers. In his first full year as a starter, King put up an impressive 2.95 ERA over 30 starts and finished seventh in Cy Young voting. Now looking for a payday worthy of his stats, the Padres may have some work to do trying to sign King long term.

King and Padres still not seeing eye to eye

Michael King is coming off a year where he made. $3.15 million, an absolute steal for a pitcher of his caliber. Now, after seeing his fellow starter Dylan Cease ink a deal that gave him a $5.75 million raise to avoid arbitration, King will surely be looking for a more fair contract. Unlike Cease however, King has not been mentioned in any trade talks whatsoever, meaning that a large contract jump for a one-year deal like Cease saw does not seem likely.

Both the Padres and King will be looking for a multi-year deal to stay in San Diego, but as first reported by The San Diego Union Tribune's Kevin Acee, the two parties are $1.475 million away from a deal. King wants $8.8 million, while the Padres are currently willing to pay $7.325. With the ongoing ownership fiasco, negotiating strength of the team may not be at an all time high, and may cause the team to bend to King's terms in light of the teams pitching staff worries.

One challenge plaguing the contract process is the lack of available data on King and pitchers like him. King excelled in his first season as a full time starter, but with the limited number of pitchers who made the same quick transition from bullpen to starter as he did, there is little way to know if any contract given is an overpay or underpay. Any contract given could be at risk of being an overpay if he regresses, or an underpay that brings on the possibility of him leaving.

Padres fans however should not be too worried, and although having to go through an arbitration hearing is not what any team wants, both King and the Padres have made it known they want a reunion. King even went as far as to say that Preller and the Padres won the Soto trade, and has shown his admiration for the team's front office. Both King and the Padres will be hoping to resolve the contract issue and sign a new deal before the hearing is needed.