Michael King’s top projected landing spot exposes Padres’ urgent rotation need

Seeing the Padres atop a free-agent landing spot list should feel encouraging. Maybe even more when it’s a returning player like Michael King. Bleacher Report ranked San Diego as King’s best landing spot if he exercises the opt-out in his contract this offseason. That’s obviously an outside projection, not a report about King’s plans or negotiations.

Take King out of San Diego’s rotation and tell us who starts Game 1 next season. Nick Pivetta gives the Padres one dependable answer, assuming they exercise his $14 million club option. Randy Vásquez is decent at the back of a rotation. Everything after that comes with a medical question mark.

Joe Musgrove spent most of 2026 fighting through setbacks in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. His eventual return came in relief, and counting on him to immediately handle a full starter’s workload in 2027 would be reckless. Yu Darvish missed the entire season after undergoing internal-brace surgery on his right elbow. He will be 40 years old next season. Enough said.

Walker Buehler, Robbie Ray and Casey Mize can become free agents. The Padres could lose several pitchers from a staff that already spent too much of the season sewing together innings.

That leaves King. And lately, it always comes back to King.

Padres already know what Michael King provides

King gave San Diego 32 starts and a 3.21 ERA this season. He handled 185 innings, stayed in the rotation and carried a staff that repeatedly needed help. Then, after doing a starter’s work all year, he recorded a two-inning save in Game 3 of the NLDS because the Padres’ season demanded it.

King has worked at Petco Park. He has worked in the postseason. He handled the pressure of arriving as the central piece of the Juan Soto trade and converting from a former reliever into the Padres’ ace. San Diego has already completed every bit of homework another bidder would need to do.

The only difficult part is the cost. King holds a player option covering the final two years and $58 million of his contract. After the season he just delivered, he has every reason to seek a longer guarantee. Bleacher Report is projecting a five-year deal.

If King returns, the Padres have their ace. Pivetta can slot behind him. Musgrove and Darvish can progress without San Diego building its season around the best-case version of their recoveries. And Vásquez can remain in a role that fits him.

If King leaves, A.J. Preller needs to find an ace while also adding depth. That search would take him into an expensive free-agent market or back to the trade table, where another deal would further thin a farm system that has already paid for years of aggressive roster construction.

He has also left the door open. After San Diego’s postseason exit, he called the city his second home and said he hoped to continue his time with the Padres. His decision will come after the World Series, and affection for San Diego will only carry the conversation so far. The Padres still have to present a serious offer.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow