At the start of the offseason, the Kansas City Royals were one of the most active teams in MLB, and the first item on their agenda was locking in the starting rotation. With Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo already set to return in 2025, the Royals re-signed veteran Michael Wacha to a three-year, $51 million deal — the fourth-richest in franchise history — on November 3, ensuring Kansas City’s rotation will have one of the fiercest 1-2-3 punches in MLB.
Now, the Royals could have a chance to make their rotation even better. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the San Diego Padres’ have been discussing multiple players in trade talks this winter, including one who would be an incredible addition to Kansas City — starter Michael King.
“One reason the open market remains clogged is that teams continue to discuss trades,” Rosenthal wrote. “The Seattle Mariners’ Luis Castillo and San Diego Padres’ Dylan Cease and Michael King, for example, are among the starting pitchers who remain in play (King asked for $8.8 million in arbitration and the Padres offered $7.325 million; a hearing appears likely).”
KC Royals could create unstoppable starting rotation by adding Michael King
King was selected by the Miami Marlins in the 12th round of the 2016 MLB Draft, but just over a year later, he was traded to the New York Yankees. He made his major league debut out of the Yankees’ bullpen on September 27, 2019, and spent the next few seasons establishing himself in a swing role.
In 2023, King was moved into the rotation to cover for injuries to starters, and after a string of strong outings — 1.88 ERA in 8 starts — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he expected the right-hander to pitch out of the rotation in 2024. Still, King was traded to the Padres on December 6, 2023, as the key piece going to San Diego for New York to acquire slugger Juan Soto.
Last year with the Padres, King thrived in his first season as a full-time starter, finishing seventh in Cy Young voting and earning a selection to the All-MLB Second Team. Across 31 games (30 starts) in the regular season, the 29-year-old went 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 201 strikeouts, posting a 27.7% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. He made two starts during San Diego’s playoff berth, going 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA.
As Rosenthal explained, the Padres and King are likely headed to an arbitration hearing over his salary for the 2025 season, with King asking for $8.8 million and the Padres offering $7.325 million. This is the right-hander’s final year of club control, and as San Diego looks to shed payroll before Opening Day, trading him away this winter makes sense.
With that in mind, the Royals should pounce.
Going into spring training, Kansas City has Ragans, Lugo, and Wacha locked in at the top of the rotation, but since trading away Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds to acquire second baseman Jonathan India, the remaining two spots are effectively up for grabs. Kris Bubic, who reinvented himself in the bullpen last season, is a front runner to earn a starting role, and Michael Lorenzen, who was recently re-signed after a brief stint in the Royals’ rotation last season, could land the other. Still, that’s a long way from confirmed, and Alec Marsh, Daniel Lynch IV, and Kyle Wright will also be contending for a spot in the rotation.
Adding King as their fourth starter would make the Royals’ rotation one of the best in MLB, giving the team an incredible edge in the AL Central. It would also allow them to utilize Lorenzen out of the bullpen to bolster the relief corps. If the Padres are serious about moving King before Opening Day, this is an opportunity the Royals can’t miss.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com ’
