Padres Ace Michael King Turns Down $28 Million Option to Hit Open Market

Michael King is heading to the open market. The San Diego Padres right-hander has declined his $28 million player option for 2027 and will become a free agent, according to New York Post insider Jon Heyman. San Diego will owe the 31-year-old a $5 million buyout, and his deal also contained a further player option for 2028 that now falls away. King's decision adds a proven arm to a strong class of available starters. Converted from a reliever into a starter after arriving from the Yankees in the Juan Soto trade, he has spent three seasons with the Padres and delivered his finest campaign in 2026, going 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA across a career-high 185 innings in 32 starts, striking out 159 batters against 70 walks. Across his three years in San Diego he made 77 starts with a 3.15 ERA and 436 strikeouts, and he was even sharper in the postseason, posting a 2.00 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 27 innings over four starts and six appearances. King now joins a free-agent pitching market headlined by Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, Trevor Rogers, Sonny Gray and Kevin Gausman. Free agency officially opened on Thursday morning following Milwaukee's World Series triumph, with players able to sign with new clubs from 5 p.m. ET on November 2 after a five-day exclusive negotiating window with their former teams.