Padres' Michael King Predicted to End Free Agency With $84 Million Deal

Sep 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King (34) pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

Michael King has experienced real growth since coming over to San Diego from the New York Yankees.

King, 30, won a career-high 13 games in 2024 while sporting a very solid 2.95 ERA. He was off to a similar start in 2025 until a plethora of injuries cropped up. As King was able to feature in only one inning this past postseason, the Padres hopes at challenging for a possible World Series went up in smoke.

Now a free agent, it's anyone's guess as to whether he'll be back with the Friars.

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Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports recently ranked the top free agents in the upcoming market. King is considered to be the No. 14 player in the ranking system. Pouliot believes that the talented right-handed arm will cash in on a three-year deal worth approximately $84 million.

"After breaking out as a starter in his first year in San Diego, King was limited to 15 starts by shoulder and knee injuries last season and saw his strikeout rate dip from 28% to 25% and his hard-hit rate increase from 30% to 38%," Pouliot writes. "On the other hand, his velocity held steady and stuff models didn’t see any drop off from 2024. His next contract seems like a high risk, high reward kind of deal, which should be of more interest to top contenders than those who need to play it a little safer."

It's been widely expected that Dylan Cease will be headed elsewhere in free agency. Conventional wisdom states that King is the more likely of the two to re-sign with the ballclub.

Given that Yu Darvish will be out for the entirety of 2026, plus the fact Joe Musgrove is coming off a year in which he sat out due to elbow surgery, bringing King back is borderline imperative for the Friars.

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Given the willingness of the San Francisco Giants to spend money coupled with the crop of talented players in Arizona with the Diamondbacks, the Padres need to keep pace in order to challenge in the grouping below the big bad blue bully up the freeway in Los Angeles.

Assuming King stays healthy and comes back on a team-friendly deal, he'll still be one of the more important pieces on this team moving forward.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.