Padres re-signing Michael King would only begin new owners’ World Series push

Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano sent a message to season-ticket holders after San Diego’s season ended in the NLDS. It sounded good. Owners usually do when disappointment from a postseason loss is fresh and nobody has submitted the first nine-figure invoice of the offseason.

“Your faith deserves more than words; it deserves action.”

Now may be the perfect time to start keeping score. Michael King should be the first name on the list. He remains under contract, but he can opt out of the final two years and $58 million of his deal after the World Series.

If he does opt out, the Padres should make a serious effort to sign him again. He anchored the rotation, delivered in October and has already said San Diego feels like a second home. The Padres know what he can handle. They also know replacing him could cost just as much, with the added risk of guessing how another pitcher will respond to Petco Park, a pennant race and the urgency behind the club’s timeline.

Losing King wouldn’t expose ownership as unserious. Free agency can give a player leverage, and another team could make an offer the Padres could decline to compete with. We can recognize fiscal limits without pretending every offer is equally serious.

The effort will tell us plenty, though. So will the plan if King walks.

Keeping Michael King would only protect what the Padres already have

A King reunion would be a major win. However, all it would do is return the Padres to the starting line. They would still need another frontline starter. Adrián Morejón, Ty France and other important contributors could also leave. The bullpen may need reinforcing. The offense that disappeared again in October needs another hitter capable of providing a spark in the lineup.

That is why ownership’s promise cannot be graded on one transaction.

The Padres cannot bring King back, hold a press conference and act as though the championship roster has been delivered. There are still holes to patch.

Jones and Feliciano didn’t explicitly promise a larger payroll in their message. They promised action and said they would earn trust through their decisions. Fair enough. We will judge the decisions then.

The Padres have an expensive veteran core, a farm system repeatedly tapped for major-league help and a fan base that keeps filling Petco Park. Their championship window is still open.

Padres ownership gave itself an offseason scorecard

King is the first test because the consequence is very easy to see. The Padres either retain a proven starter, replace him with comparable quality or enter 2027 with a rotation that looks weaker than the one that just fell short. After that comes the next starter, the bat and the bullpen.

We are asking them to compete seriously for players the Padres can’t afford to replace with hopeful thinking. We are asking A.J. Preller to build something sturdier than another top-heavy roster. King supplies the first measurable decision. Bringing him back would show that the Padres intend to protect the core of a 91-win team. 

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