Padres' Michael King Potential Return Date Revealed By Mike Shildt

Michael King made his first rehab start on Sunday with Triple-A El Paso after missing more than two months with a nerve injury. Despite giving up six earned runs, four hits and two home runs, King’s next start could be in the big leagues.

San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt told reporters King will likely make his next start in MLB. Shildt clarified he is not fully confident that King will not make another rehab start, but he is fairly confident the right-hander is ready to return.

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“There’s a really good chance – not going to put it in pen, but we’ll put it in dark pencil — he’s got a good chance for his next start to be for the Padres big-league club,” Shildt said, via the San Diego Union-Tribune.

King could reportedly start as early as this weekend during the Padres’ home series against the Boston Red Sox. It would be his first MLB start since May 18 against the Seattle Mariners.

The Padres had the most productive trade deadline in baseball. Among their many moves, they added left-handers JP Sears from the Athletics and Nestor Cortes from Milwaukee Brewers into the rotation without having to trade starting pitcher Dylan Cease.

As King inches closer to a return, San Diego’s rotation is only getting stronger.

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King earned his first All-MLB selection and helped the Padres nearly eliminate the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series last season. King also set career-highs in strikeouts (201) and wins (13), which ranked fifth and seventh in the NL, respectively.

He was off to an even better season in 2025, accruing a 2.59 ERA across 10 starts. King struck out 48 batters and allowed just 10 earned runs through 42.1 innings in his last seven games before sustaining his freak injury.

The Padres are three games behind the Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West and three games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the final NL Wild Card spot.

Having King back in the rotation, alongside Sears and Cortes, will bolster San Diego’s rotation for the final two months of the regular season and hopefully through a deep postseason run.

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