SAN DIEGO -- The Padres needed starting pitching this winter, and in the end, they didn’t have to look very far to find it.
Right-hander Michael King has agreed to a three-year deal to return to San Diego, sources told MLB.com on Thursday. The deal is worth $75 million in total and features opt outs after each of the first two seasons. It has not yet been confirmed by the club, but per a source, King has passed his physical and the signing is expected to become official on Friday morning.
Per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, who first reported the deal, King will make a $12 million signing bonus, paid out across the three seasons, with a $5 million salary in 2026. He is then owed a $28 million salary in ‘27 with a $5 million buyout should he opt out and a $30 million salary in ‘28 (with no buyout).
Essentially, the deal will be worth $22 million for one year, $45 million for two or $75 million for three -- depending on if King opts out and when.
King, of course, spent the past two seasons in San Diego, where he blossomed into a front-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. He’d spent the first five seasons of his career mostly pitching in relief with the Yankees. But after landing with the Padres in the Juan Soto deal, King posted a 3.10 ERA in 46 appearances (45 starts). He was solid across three playoff outings as well.
Earlier this offseason, King declined a one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer, meaning the Padres would have received Draft pick compensation had he signed elsewhere. That would have been small consolation for the departure of one of their best arms. Instead, they guaranteed King $75 million -- or essentially the cost of that qualifying offer if he were to opt out after one season.
King’s return is a major boost to a rotation in dire need of one. Already this winter, right-hander Dylan Cease had departed in free agency, joining Toronto on a seven-year deal. (The Padres will receive Draft pick compensation for that deal.) Yu Darvish, meanwhile, will miss the entire 2026 season following elbow surgery, and is evidently still mulling his future on the mound entirely.
But with the 30-year-old King back on board, the Padres suddenly appear to have four-fifths of their rotation filled out. Last season, Nick Pivetta was the staff ace and started Game 1 of the postseason. He’s been mentioned in trade rumors but is far, far likelier to return. Meanwhile, Joe Musgrove is expected back from Tommy John surgery.
As things stand, here’s what the Padres’ rotation could look like.
- Nick Pivetta
- Michael King
- Joe Musgrove
- Randy Vásquez
- JP Sears
That rotation features depth concerns. Sears struggled last season, and the options behind him are thin after the Padres’ recent trade sprees, which sent a handful of upper-level starting pitching prospects elsewhere. Clearly, there’s still work to be done.
But that work should mostly come on the fringes -- perhaps a No. 5 starter and a depth option or two. (San Diego also signed former Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie to a Minor League deal on Thursday.)
In King, the Padres found the big arm they needed to fit near the front of their rotation. And the upside is tremendous. King has been one of the best starters in baseball when healthy. He essentially began his transition to the rotation late in the 2023 season with the Yankees before the trade. In 64 career starts, King owns a 3.35 ERA with 10 strikeouts per nine innings. His deep arsenal clearly plays as a starter -- where he can blend two distinct fastballs, plus changeups, cutters and sweepers that all feature very different movement profiles.
For nearly all of King’s tenure as a starter, he has been excellent when he’s on the mound. But he dealt with two notable injuries during his 2025 season -- first a nerve issue that compromised the strength of his right shoulder, then a knee injury as he built back up toward a return later in the season. He missed most of four months, and when he rejoined the club in September, he didn’t look like himself.
It’s possible those injury concerns ended up hurting King’s market in free agency. But no one is more familiar with King than the Padres, and they’re elated to be bringing him back.
King’s deal comes as something of a surprise -- the first major move of the offseason in San Diego after rumors had King linked with a handful of teams on the East Coast. The Padres could still use another back-end starter or two and at least one bat (preferably a first baseman). After spending big on King, it’s worth wondering whether they’d need to clear salary elsewhere to address those other needs. Of course, general manager A.J. Preller always seems to be up for a trade, so perhaps that’s the route they’d go down.
In any case, the first major domino in the Padres’ offseason has officially fallen -- and their rotation picture is suddenly a whole lot clearer.