Ex-Padres arm might complete Rangers’ AL-best rotation if front office opens wallet

Michael King has declined his side of a mutual offer from the San Diego Padres and is set to become a free agent heading into 2026.

He is owed a $3.75 million buyout, rather than the $15 million he would have received if he had accepted the option. The Padres have until Thursday to make a qualifying offer of just over $22 million to keep King, or he will be looking for a new city to call home next year.

The 30-year-old from Rochester, New York, would make for a nice fit to replace left-hander Patrick Corbin as the fifth starter for the Rangers, who is unlikely to be with the club next season.

King is a proven commodity despite being limited by injuries in 2025

In 2024, after being acquired from the Mets in the Juan Soto deal, King was spectacular authoring a 13-9 season with a 2.95 ERA, 201 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP in 173.2 innings pitched.

However, 2025 was a frustrating season for King, who battled injuries, missing 3 months with a long thoracic nerve issue and a knee injury while trying to ramp up too quickly. King finished a truncated season with a 3.44 ERA across just 15 starts, a 5-3 record over 72 innings.

King is expected to reject the Padres' qualifying offer, but may be too expensive for Texas

While insiders expect King to reject the $22 million from the Padres, it appears that, as good as he would look in a Rangers' uniform as a part of the best starting staff from 2025, he might command more than Chris Young, and the cost-cutting Rangers are willing to spend.

King would be a massive upgrade over Corbin who signed a one year deal worth $1 million last season. His arsenal includes a fastball that tops out at around 97 mph, a cutter in the mid-to-low 90s, and a nasty changeup strikeout pitch that he can drop in at the knees anywhere between 82 and 88 mph.

His stuff is good enough that he could potentially push for the third or fourth spot in the talented Rangers' staff returning from last season. He was the 2025 Opening Day starter on a Padres staff that included Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish.