Should the New York Mets sign this pending free agent starter?

The World Series is in the books, which means the offseason has officially arrived in Major League Baseball.

For the New York Mets, they're expected to be very busy this winter after missing the playoffs and falling well short of expectations this season. While there are plenty of needs the Mets will have to address this offseason, upgrading their pitching rotation is expected to be a top priority after it crumbled down the stretch.

Could one possible option for New York's rotation be this stellar starting pitcher?

It was reported on Sunday by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that Padres starter Michael King is expected to decline his side of the mutual option of his contract. King is also expected to receive the qualifying offer from San Diego, which he will all but certainly reject.

As expected, Padres starting pitcher Michael King has declined his side of the mutual option on his contract. He will become a free agent.
— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) November 2, 2025

The 30-year-old has spent the last two seasons with the Padres; he came over from the New York Yankees in December 2023 as part of the Juan Soto trade. It was reported last offseason that the Mets spoke to the Padres about King and fellow righty Dylan Cease, but the Padres opted to keep the two starters.

King went on to string together two productive seasons with the Padres as a full-time starter, after being used primarily as a reliever during his time with the Yankees. During the 2024 season, King posted a 13-9 record with a 2.95 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 173.2 innings pitched; he finished seventh in the NL Cy Young award voting that year.

However, King was not as productive this past season for San Diego. Despite tossing his first career complete game against the Colorado Rockies on April 13, King was limited to just 15 starts during the regular season due to a pair of stints on the injured list. He was initially placed on the IL on May 25 due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder, and was later transferred to the 60-day IL on July 7.

Despite returning from the IL in August, King missed another month due to right knee inflammation. He finished the 2025 campaign compiling a 5-3 record with a 3.44 ERA, 76 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.20 across 73.1 innings of work in those 15 starts.

Michael King's Wicked Sinkers. 🤢

22" and 21" of run. pic.twitter.com/QQqzyE03pq
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 10, 2025

While King certainly regressed for the Padres in 2025 due to his lingering injuries, he could certainly be a fit for the Mets in 2026. Aside from Nolan McLean stringing together a breakout rookie season after being called up in late August, the Mets' rotation has many questions to answer.

Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea endured injury-riddled seasons, and David Peterson struggled down the stretch after a tremendous first half. The Mets are also expected to be without Tylor Megill for the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

With the rotation looking like the Amazins' biggest weakness heading into a crucial offseason, it would not be a surprise if they are interested in Michael King.

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