Padres and Michael King reached the agreement after the pitcher rejected the qualifying offer in November
Right-hander Michael King and the San Diego Padres agreed to a three-year contract worth $75 million, sources told Jeff Passan of ESPN on Thursday.
The agreement allows King to opt out of the contract after the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
King was limited to 15 starts with the Padres in 2025, missing about half the season due to a knee injury and a nerve issue in his right shoulder. He went 5-3 with a 3.44 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 73.1 innings.
The 30-year-old right-hander, who relies on his sinker and changeup, still showed flashes of what stood out in his first season in San Diego in 2024, when he posted a 3.9 WAR and a 2.95 ERA in 173.1 innings over 30 starts. He finished seventh in National League Cy Young Award voting that year.
However, the big difference between both schedules was that his four-seam fastball had more power than in 2024, going from a slugging percentage allowed of .402 to .814.
The Padres offered him a qualifying offer of $22.025 million, but he turned it down before the Nov. 18 deadline.
King spent his first five MLB seasons with the New York Yankees and has a record of 31-29 with a 3.24 ERA and 559 strikeouts.
The news was initially reported by MLB.com.
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