Red Sox, Yankees, Mets All Eyeing 30-Year-Old With Ace-Upside

The Boston Red Sox already have added two different starting pitchers this offseason. While that is the case, it certainly sounds like the organization isn't closing any doors on other pursuits.

Acquiring Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo already makes the team's rotation better on paper. But there's another hurler the club reportedly has interest in: Michael King, most recently of the San Diego Padres. ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported on Monday that Boston -- along with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs -- is among the teams that have shown interest in King already with the winter meetings ongoing.

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"Free agent pitcher Michael King has a half dozen suitors, including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, but his market hasn't completely materialized yet," Rogers wrote on Monday.

The Red Sox have reported interest in the starter

Joel Sherman of the New York Post was the first to report Boston as a team in the mix for King this past weekend. Sherman mentioned Boston, along with the Mets and the Detroit Tigers.

King would be an intriguing addition for Boston. He's 30 years old and has legit ace-upside. Look at his 2024 production, for example. It was his first season as a full-time starting pitcher and he had a 2.95 ERA and 201-to-63 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 173 2/3 innings pitched. King didn't get to fully follow up the performance in 2025 as he dealt with an injury that limited him to just 15 starts. He did have a 3.44 ERA over that stretch, though.

Spotrac currently has King's projected market value to be just over $91 million over four years. That's arguably a significantly better value than someone like Framber Valdez, who is still available. Or Dylan Cease, who signed a $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. If King is healthy, there's an argument that he's a comparable hurler to Valdez and Cease, but is expected to be significantly less expensive.

Boston saw King as a reliever for the Yankees for years before he was traded to the Padres. Last offseason, the Red Sox and Yankees were both interested in Max Fried before he signed with New York and Boston got Garrett Crochet. It sounds like King has interest from both sides as well this offseason.

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