The New York Yankees traded away one of its more solid bullpen pieces in 28-year old Michael King in the deal that netted them star outfielder Juan Soto. King, who is now with the San Diego Padres, felt dejected at first when he learned that he would no longer be donning the iconic Pinstripes in 2024.

However, there is plenty of opportunity for King to cement himself as an even better pitcher with the Padres in the coming season. With only a little over a week before Spring Training begins, the 28-year old starting pitcher is acknowledging the golden opportunity that awaits him — a side of the equation he didn't come to grips with immediately after the Yankees traded him away.

“I am not fully proven, what did I have, nine starts last year? I love New York. I loved the relationships I had. So when I first got traded, I was sad. Then I started to talk to people about the opportunity and it’s just so much better for my career in terms of development because I want to establish myself as a starter,” King said, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

For Michael King's career, he has only had a grand total of 19 stars out of a total of 115 appearances on the mound. Had he not landed with the Padres, there was a legitimate possibility that he will remain in the bullpen for the majority of 2024, especially after he found success and pitched to the tune of a 2.75 ERA in 104.2 innings last season.

But with the Padres, King should now get a ton of burn as a member of the starting rotation. The current Fangraphs depth chart has him slotted at third in their rotation, and given his solid pitching numbers for the past few seasons, King acknowledged that he may get more margin for error with his new team.

“I am getting these reps in that I don’t know that I would have been given as a Yankee because if I had a couple of bad outings, they know what I had in the bullpen and they could say you are better out of the bullpen. Instead here, if I have a few bad ones, I have a little bit more leeway,” the hopeful Padres starter added.