Overview
- By turning down the mutual option, King receives a $3.75 million buyout instead of the $15 million salary tied to the option year.
- The right-hander was limited by a long thoracic nerve issue and a knee setback in 2025, finishing with a 3.44 ERA across 15 starts.
- King previously excelled as a full-time starter in 2024 with a 2.95 ERA over 173 2/3 innings and a seventh-place finish in NL Cy Young voting.
- League observers expect multi-year offers, and one projection from The Athletic’s Jim Bowden pegs his market at three years and $75 million.
- San Diego must also weigh a qualifying offer for fellow free agent Dylan Cease, and departures could leave a thin 2026 rotation led by Nick Pivetta with Joe Musgrove expected back, while a declined offer would yield a compensatory pick after the fourth round due to the 2025 luxury-tax overage.