Pitcher Who the Nationals Should Pursue Officially Becomes Free Agent

Someone the Washington Nationals should go after is now a free agent.

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The Washington Nationals were busy during the early part of their offseason once their 2025 campaign ended, but following the conclusion of the World Series on Saturday night, the MLB offseason is now officially underway.

That means players are going to start hitting the open market via free agency or because they have turned down their player or mutual options. Others will be placed on waivers as teams start getting their 40-man rosters situated, while others will have their club options declined.

For the Nationals, that just means they should have plenty of options when it comes to upgrading their team this winter, with a focus on the pitching staff and potentially first base being at the top of their wish-list.

Michael King Officially Becomes Free Agent

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Now, just one day into the offseason getting underway, a potential target for Washington has officially become a free agent. As reported by Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, Michael King has declined his side of the mutual option.

That was largely expected to happen. However, with the potential to opt in and get paid $15 million for the 2026 campaign, there was a chance the veteran righty could have returned to the San Diego Padres for another year on that contract.

The Nationals will likely have an opportunity to go after him in free agency. Unless the Padres throw a huge deal at him within the first five days where only he and his former team can negotiate, then King will probably field offers from multiple clubs around the league before making his decision.

Why Nationals Should Go After Michael King

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First, King and new manager Blake Butera have a relationship since they played two years together at Boston College. While that's unlikely to sway him towards Washington if they aren't offering him something at the top of his market, it's something to remember in this process.

Outside of that, King has been an effective starting pitcher since converting to that role after San Diego acquired him from the New York Yankees in the Juan Soto blockbuster a couple years back. Across two seasons with the Padres, he has a 3.10 ERA across 46 outings (45 starts). His ERA+ is 135 points above the league average of 100, and he's rung up 277 batters in 247 innings pitched.

Depending on the type of contract he's looking for from a financial standpoint, adding King to this rotation would be a huge boost for the Nationals as they try to find consistent starters behind their ace MacKenzie Gore going forward.

Now that King has officially become a free agent, Washington should have an opportunity to go after him. Adding the veteran righty could be the first big splash made by Paul Toboni, and it would signal a changing of the guard.