Padres' Michael King Reveals If He'll Return This Season

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King remains adamant that he will pitch again for the Friars this season despite his extended stay on the injured list with a nerve issue.

The Padres scratched King from a May 24 start against the Atlanta Braves and placed him on the injured list the following day. He was diagnosed with a nerve impingement in his throwing shoulder. King hasn't resumed baseball activities since, and per the San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee, they will need to wait for his nerve to start firing again before that happens.

“I’ve had days where I’ve been really, really frustrated with it and been really sore and felt like I didn’t get much activity that day," King said. “And then I’ll wake up the next day and all of a sudden (it’s) like, ‘Oh my God, I feel like I can pitch in a game right now.’ So it’s taking it step by step and knowing that it can fire when it fires, but obviously it’s that annoying process. I’ve got a ton of confidence that what we’re doing is the correct thing to do, and I’ve felt my body progress in great ways.

“So I’m very confident that I will pitch by the end of the year.”

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King's return is unlikely to come back to the rotation before the All-Star break, but the starter is confident in what is being done to assist in his recovery.

“Everybody says with nerves, it’s just a time thing," King said when asked if he’d return this season. "I’m doing everything I possibly can to get it going. And I know that everybody tells me that it will come back quickly, and I’m just in that lull right now where I’m just trying to keep the body going and be ready to go as soon as I can.”

King was having his best season as a starter before his injury, posting a 2.59 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 55.2 innings pitched.

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The Padres are also without Yu Darvish, who has missed the whole season so far with elbow inflammation. They are currently third in the NL West, sitting five games back of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. They are half a game out of the final NL Wild Card spot, and will hope for King's swift return as they look to make the postseason in back to back appearances.

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