The San Diego Padres and Michael King agreed to a $75 million contract on Thursday. The deal, which is for three years, includes multiple player options. Still, it's a contract that should benefit both King and the Padres. On Friday, the starting pitcher had a press conference and explained why he agreed to a reunion with the ball club he played for in 2024 and 2025.
“When you sit back and think about a winning team and a winning mentality, I know that I got one of the best in the business to get us to where we want to be,” King told reporters during his press conference, via MLB Network. “Feeling the playoff atmosphere and pressure in San Diego was something I want to feel every year for the rest of my career. Those are the ties that brought me back here.”
King is one of the better pitchers in all of baseball. He received interest from other ball clubs, but the right-handed hurler ultimately decided to return to San Diego.
Padres president of baseball operations and general manager AJ Preller made it clear he was a fan of King's aforementioned comments during Friday's press conference.
“Michael obviously grew up on the east coast, went to school there, that was where his priority was,” Preller added after King's aforementioned comments. “But when you hear things, like, the one west coast team that he wants to play for is the Padres because of the experiences here, with the team, the roster, the city, the ownership group, the whole thing, and definitely the fans, that's nice to hear. And we hear that a lot from players here recently.”
King is hoping to help the Padres compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West during the upcoming 2026 season.
