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Padres Scratch Michael King From Start Right Before Trade Deadline as Rumors Swirl

This is very interesting.
Noah Camras|
Jul 28, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King (34) walks off the field after striking out the side during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images
Jul 28, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King (34) walks off the field after striking out the side during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres have scratched right-handed pitcher Michael King from his scheduled start on Sunday, one day before Major League Baseball's trade deadline.

King has found himself in trade rumors as he has the potential to opt out of his contract at the end of the 2026 season. Now, he won't be pitching the day before the deadline.

Instead, left-handed pitcher Kyle Hart will start in what will be another bullpen game for San Diego.

King's next scheduled start has been moved to Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. First pitch for that game is hours after the 3 p.m. PT trade deadline.

If King isn't traded, he'll be set up perfectly to pitch the series opener in what could be the Padres' most important series of the season against the team just ahead of them in the wild-card race.

Why Would the Padres Trade Michael King?

It seems counterintuitive for the Padres, a team struggling to find starting pitching, to trade King.

However, with King's ability to enter free agency this offseason, the Padres could be more inclined to find controllable starting pitching at the deadline.

The Padres could trade King to a contender for prospects, and then flip those prospects for a starting pitcher with multiple years of team control. It's also possible the Padres get a controllable starter for King, who has a 3.38 ERA and 109 strikeouts across 125.1 innings this season.

Fernando Tatis Jr. Out of Padres Lineup on Sunday vs Giants

  1. Luis Rengio, LF
  2. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
  3. Manny Machado, DH
  4. Ty France, 1B
  5. Jackson Merrill, CF
  6. Luis Campusano, C
  7. Gavin Sheets, RF
  8. Xander Bogaerts, SS
  9. Sung-Mun Song, 3B

Fernando Tatis Jr. is out of the Padres lineup on Sunday, getting a day off before the crucial series against the Diamondbacks. Machado is getting a DH day.

How to Watch Padres vs Giants on Sunday

First pitch for San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants on Sunday, August 2 is 1:10 p.m. PT/4:10 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

The Padres announced that games will also be available via cable on the following channels:

  • Cox (Channel 83)
  • DirecTV (Channel 694-3)
  • AT&T Uverse (Channel 781 or 1781)
  • Spectrum (Channel 305 or 443)

Games will be broadcast on the radio on 97.3 The Fan (in English) and XEMO 860 (in Spanish).

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Published | Modified
Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Padres on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.

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