Padres Get Massive Michael King Update as Trade Deadline Nears

Michael King pitched three innings in a simulated game at Petco Park on Monday. After the outing, the right-handed starting pitcher said he feels fully healed from his long thoracic nerve injury.

“I’m 100 percent,” King said, via MLB.com's AJ Cassavell. “I haven’t had any real pain. It’s just that obviously the muscle just wasn’t firing. So now that it’s going, it’s really just trying to get my feet under me and make sure I’m progressing as fast as possible.”

King said he thinks pitching at Petco Park may have contributed to him feeling as good as he did during the simulated game.

“(I felt) probably better than I would have thought,” King said. “The adrenaline of pitching at Petco is a little bit more than Arizona backfields, so I was happy with the command of everything. Shapes were good. But, yeah, I felt like all pitches were commanded pretty well.”

Padres manager Mike Shildt was also content with King’s performance. With August right around the corner, he said King’s progression is a good sign for San Diego’s rotation.

“Ball was coming out good and the changeup was good and the secondary was there. As you would expect after a multiple-month hiatus from the mound, there’s still a little bit of rust there. But as far as the ball coming out and the movements, it also looked like he felt good, and that’s the most important thing,” Shildt said. “It looked free. It looked easy. It didn’t look apprehensive. So we saw a convicted athlete out there. And so it was very encouraging day for Michael King and the Padres.”

As far as when King can return to the rotation, the Padres are expecting to bring back the 2024 All-MLB Second Team selection in August. King said he is hoping to add more innings to his next simulated game.

“I’m always the type that wants to build as much as I possibly can,” King said. “I was happy I was able to go three ups. … I would love to build as much as I possibly can as quick as I possibly can. So that’s going to be some conversations I have in the next couple days.”

The Padres are hanging onto the third National League Wild Card spot, and getting King back will help them make a push for the postseason.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.