JUPITER, Fla. -- The Marlins have agreed to a one-year Major League deal with lefty reliever John King, a source told MLB.com on Wednesday. The contract will be worth $1.5 million, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The club has not confirmed the news.
King, who was non-tendered by the Cardinals in November, has a 111 ERA+ and a 5.9 K/9 rate in 214 career outings across six seasons with the Rangers and Cardinals. The sinkerballer is a ground-ball machine, landing in the 98th percentile in both 2024 (61.5%) and ‘25 (60%).
His career splits are as expected for a southpaw: Righties have posted a slash line of .302/.353/.430; lefties haven’t fared as well, batting .251/.291/.337.
But after King’s career year in 2024 (2.85 ERA in 60 innings), he struggled last season (4.66 ERA in 48 1/3 innings).
The 31-year-old King will join Cade Gibson, Andrew Nardi and Josh Simpson as 40-man southpaw options in the Marlins’ bullpen. Gibson and Simpson saw contrasting results during their rookie seasons in 2025: Gibson posted a 2.63 ERA in 44 outings, while Simpson compiled a 7.34 ERA in 31 appearances.
Nardi, who hasn’t pitched in a game since August 2024, is trying to put recurring back issues behind him. He took the first step on Wednesday, when pitchers and catchers reported, by throwing a bullpen.
Miami will need to clear two 40-man roster spots when the deals for King and starter Chris Paddack are made official. One logical transaction would be moving right Ronny Henriquez, who underwent offseason Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day injured list.