Padres Announce Surprise Opening Day Starter for 2025 Season

It was always speculated the Padres would give Dylan Cease the nod to open their season, and their decision not to choose the 29-year-old only fuels the trade rumors.

In 2024, the Cease went 14-11 with an ERA of 3.47 in his inaugural season with the Padres. Cease punched 224 strikeouts to only 65 walks across a career-high 189.1 innings pitched last season.

Nevertheless, the Padres have chosen King to kick off the season. His new contract signified he was likely locked in with the team the season, at least more so than Cease is.

"I would be shocked, but I guess anything can happen," King told 97.3 The Fan. "I didn't think I was going to be traded over here that offseason last year. I know that the baseball world is crazy so you don't want to make those plans and the baseball gods are going to tell you something different."

In 2024, King went 13-9 and produced a 2.95 ERA with San Diego. He will look to replicate another strong performance in 2025.

There was also speculation veteran pitcher Yu Darvish would get the Opening Day start; however, he faced a minor setback with the Padres labeling it as "fatigue."

Preller said the Padres would be cautious with Darvish throughout the season in order to preserve the right-hander for October.

“At times for Yu-san, less is more,” said Preller earlier this offseason. “And I think for us in terms of understanding, hey, the most important thing is what we saw last year when he was pitching in October. Yu Darvish in October is obviously a very talented and capable pitcher — seeing what he did in L.A. in two starts.

"So I think for us, it’s like understanding that, like, yeah, the World Series isn’t played in April or May. These games are important. But we’re gonna try and do everything we can … to make sure he is as prepared as he can to go perform at a high level.”