San Diego signs starter and adds others on minor league deals
The Friar Faithful have been waiting for San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller to make a significant signing this offseason and the wait is finally over. The Padres and free agent right-hander Michael King agreed on a three-year, $75 million deal, Thursday. The deal includes opt-outs for 2027 and 2028, but ensures King is in San Diego for at least one more season.
The signing of King was a bit surprising for a couple of reasons. The Padres were not expected to have the financial ability to sign him and the latest rumors, at least on the national level, had King ticketed for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees or Baltimore Orioles. Much to the delight of Padres fans, King will return to San Diego for the 2026 season, which is what 48 percent of fans polled by Gaslamp Ball said they wanted.
King re-joins Nick Pivetta, who is still a member of the Padres, and Joe Musgrove, who missed all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery, as a formidable 1-2-3. Preller still has work to do to fill out his rotation and with the allocation of significant free agent dollars King, he may need someone like Triston McKenzie, who signed a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, to step up and fill a roll.
Padres News:
- Mason Miller is joining a new team… for the World Baseball Classic. It was announced Thursday that Miller is joining the United States team giving them perhaps the top bullpen arm in MLB.
- Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune looks at new bullpen addition Daison Acosta in his on-going roster review.
Baseball News:
- Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal will also join the U.S. team for the WBC. The left-hander, who won the 2025 American League Cy Young Award, joins Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who won the 2025 National League Cy Young Award, on the team.
- The Chicago Cubs and first baseman Tyler Austin agreed to a one-year, $1.25 million deal.
- The Cleveland Guardians and Shawn Armstrong agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract.
- The Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays agreed to a trade that sent Tristan Peters to Chicago in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.
Category: General Sports
