When the Padres traded Juan Soto to the Yankees nearly two years ago, it was a startling move. The Padres needed to make this trade in order to rebuild their pitching staff, even with Soto’s brilliance. Michael King was the primary return piece for the Friars. In the present, Michael King is a Cy Young contender for the Padres, and Juan Soto is a member of the Mets.
King Michael’s fathers Duration
King has had an absolutely remarkable time with the Padres. King was mostly a reliever prior to his trade. He played in 49 games during his 2023 season with the Yankees, but he only started nine of them.King recently talked to Padres beat reporter AJ Cassavell about his transition to becoming a starter on the Padres, saying, “I think that [pitching coach] Ruben [Niebla] has been incredible for my development. … He knew how to manage my innings, but also make sure that I was strong enough to get through a full season and be strong for the following year. I think [the trade] was great for my development as a starter.” Both sides knew that King would need to step up as a starter once the Padres made the move to acquire him.
Michael King was set up to do well in San Diego. Additionally, there has been a great deal of success. King finished seventh in the NL Cy Young voting the previous season with a 2.95 ERA and more than 200 strikeouts. He has performed much better this season. His current ERA and WHIP are 2.22 and 0.99, respectively.
King is approaching the strike zone more frequently, which is why some of his advanced metrics aren’t as good as they were the previous season. From 8.7% to 7.9%, his walk percentage has decreased by about one full point. His objective is obviously to pitch farther into ball games. His hard hit and chase rates are not as high as they were the previous season.
Reach Out to Him Now
Nobody who supports the Padres wouldn’t want to see Michael King don the Brown and Gold next season. What is his market like, then?
King’s market value is listed by Spotrac as a $72 million, four-year contract. I apologize, but that contract prediction is absurd; he will earn far more. According to a recent ESPN story, Jeff Passan valued him between $100 and $200 million. Given how important King has been to San Diego, that would make a lot more sense.
The $100 million, five-year deal with Joe Musgrove has been connected to King’s future contract.
Last season or even this offseason, that made sense, but today it seems improbable.
The 6-year, $210 million contract Corbin Burnes signed with the Diamondbacks might perhaps be a more accurate analogy. It’s more likely that King will receive an offer that is closer to $200 million than $100 million if he goes out to market, but I know he won’t get that precise contract.
Having said that, the Padres should have a clear objective: keep King from becoming free. It seems unlikely that the Padres will be able to outbid other teams in a bidding war. Michael King’s continued presence is vital to the franchise.They have the best chance of doing so if they close a trade this season. Michael King’s worth will increase as he continues to deliver excellent performances. In order to close a deal as quickly as feasible, AJ Preller should be exerting every effort.
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