The Chicago Cubs enter the offseason with clear rotation openings and one of the more logical free-agent fits available in right-hander Michael King.
King, 31, declined his player option with the San Diego Padres and will test the market after a season that included a career-high 32 starts and 185 innings. He finished 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 159 strikeouts and 70 walks.
That workload marked a full bounce-back from an injury-shortened 2025 and positioned him as one of the top starting pitchers available behind Tarik Skubal. Multiple projections have placed him in the range of a multi-year deal worth well over $100 million.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan had already flagged the opt-out as the expected outcome.
“The 31-year-old King is the other candidate along with Taira to stand first in line behind Skubal, and it makes sense for him to forgo the final two years and $58 million on his deal — particularly with the $5 million buyout he’d cash in,” Passan wrote. “Will he opt-out: Yes.”
King cashed in that buyout rather than return for the remaining two years and roughly $53-58 million on his three-year, $75 million deal signed last offseason. The Padres cannot attach a qualifying offer this time because they already did so previously.
Chicago’s interest is not new. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer pursued King in free agency a year ago before the right-hander returned to San Diego on a structure that allowed another early exit. With several members of the 2026 rotation either unrestricted free agents or expected to decline options, the Cubs again need established innings.
Those potential departures include Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman and David Peterson as free agents, while Matthew Boyd and Clay Holmes hold options that are unlikely to be exercised or are expected to be declined. Justin Steele is returning from injury and Edward Cabrera provides another piece, but the club still lacks a clear front-of-the-rotation anchor.
King showed exactly the type of performance Chicago has sought when he faced the Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series. He threw seven innings, allowed one hit, struck out eight and walked three in an 8-0 Padres win. Overall in the postseason he posted a 0.64 ERA with 15 strikeouts across 14 innings.
That outing against the highest-scoring offense in baseball underscored both his ability to miss bats and generate weak contact when healthy. His sinker-changeup mix and ground-ball tendencies have drawn comparisons to profiles the Cubs have targeted in recent years.
Wrigley Field has ranked among the more pitcher-friendly parks in recent seasons, which could further enhance King’s value in Chicago compared with some other potential landing spots. The club also has money coming off the books from the expiring contracts of Imanaga, Boyd and others, giving it financial room to make a competitive offer.
King has said he enjoyed his time in San Diego and views the city as a second home.
“San Diego’s been incredible for me, and it’s all the way across the country from home,” he said. “But now I feel like I have a second home on the West Coast, so it’s been awesome. And yeah, I hope to continue.”
Even so, one recent prediction from Just Baseball has the Padres losing him specifically to the Cubs, citing both the club’s rotation needs and the fact that King held Chicago to one hit over seven innings in the postseason. The Padres held an exclusive negotiating window that has since closed, opening the door for other teams.
Whether Hoyer and the Cubs front office make a serious push remains to be seen, but the combination of King’s durability in 2026, his prior connection to the organization and Chicago’s immediate need for starting pitching makes the fit straightforward on paper. The free-agent market for quality starters is thin beyond the top names, increasing the likelihood of significant interest from multiple clubs.
King will turn 32 during the 2027 season. His ability to stay healthy over a full workload this year removed one of the primary concerns that limited his market value previously. For a Cubs team looking to solidify the top of its rotation and return to consistent contention, that combination of production and availability is exactly what the front office has been seeking.
