Padres Predicted To Reunite With Key Pitcher on $100 Million Deal

The San Diego Padres made it through the 2026 with limited starting pitching, to say the least.

In spite of this, they boasted among the best bullpens in baseball and unleashed arguably the best offense in MLB after the All-Star break. San Diego had the highest batting average, second-highest OPS and the second-best record in baseball (43-23) in the second half, trailing only the eventual World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers.

One of the main pieces of the rotation, right-hander Michael King, happened to be in the midst of one of his greatest seasons yet. Unfortunately for the Padres, it was with a player option looming, one that would eventually be declined ahead of a free agency where he's been predicted to land a massive deal.

King tossed a 3.21 ERA over a career-high 185 innings of work, a career-high bWAR of 4.3 and an off speed run value that Baseball Savant ranked in the 98th percentile in MLB.

MLB insiders Nicholas Selbe and Will Laws of Sports Illustrated looked into the top free agents around baseball this offseason, and both predicted that King will end up returning to the Padres.

"King, a former Yankees swingman, has evolved into San Diego’s ace over the last three years. That was readily apparent during the postseason when he allowed just one run over 14 innings, nearly no-hitting the Cubs’ MLB-best offense and keeping the Brewers at bay," Laws wrote. "Of the 104 pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched over the last three years, King ranks 10th with a 3.15 ERA, directly above Garrett Crochet. The righthander doesn’t have a blazing fastball or elite swing-and-miss metrics, which is a little concerning to commit to long-term. But he does masterfully mix his breaking and offspeed stuff, having used four different pitches on at least 18% of offerings this year to elicit weak contact."

Laws predicted a four-year, $104 million contract while Selbe predicted four years and $100 million.

The contract projections are certainly on par with what King deserves this winter, but King isn't the only pitcher needed in the rotation for 2027. If he returns, he will without a doubt be a pivotal piece once again, but roughly $25 million per year is already significant before factoring about $200 million owed to Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill through at least 2034.

If new owners Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano are as committed financially to the team as they were in their past commitment to winning, perhaps an elite pitcher will just be another step towards the ultimate goal.

President of baseball operations AJ Preller recently spoke with MLB insider Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM regarding the new ownership and how the investment in the team can be connected to winning.

"I think for them, 'all in' [means] you understand that you have to invest in not just payroll but it's ultimately in your players, your staff," Preller said. "They've been in there, asking tons of good questions. It's all about building something special. It's been a good start to the relationship."

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