Padres Have Not Guaranteed Michael King Will Return This Season: Report

A full month has passed since Michael King was sidelined with inflammation in his right shoulder. The right-handed pitcher was 4-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 10 starts when he left his most recent start on May 18. He has remained on the 15-day injured list well past the minimum duration.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, King still expects to pitch in 2025. But the timeline for his return is the opposite of defined.

King "could be back by the end of July. He might not be back at all. No one close to the situation has guaranteed he will return this season," according to Acee.

The Padres tried Sean Reynolds and Kyle Hart in King's rotation spot before landing on right-hander Ryan Bergert. The 25-year-old rookie is 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA in seven games (three starts), with an excellent 0.983 WHIP in 19.1 innings.

But it's a disappointing update for a pitcher who went down with what appeared to be a fairly innoculous injury at the time. King is dealing with a scapula issue after sleeping in an awkward position the night before his start.

King, 30, had just begun his conversion from relieving to starting when he was included in the Yankees' package to get Juan Soto from the Padres in December 2023.

In San Diego, no one was threatening to knock King out of the starting rotation from the outset — a measure of security he did not take for granted.

“I definitely think I was given a longer leash as a starter over here,” King recently told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “I think that [pitching coach] Ruben [Niebla] has been incredible for my development. … He knew how to manage my innings, but also make sure that I was strong enough to get through a full season and be strong for the following year. I think [the trade] was great for my development as a starter.”

Last year, King went 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA in 31 games (30 starts). He finished seventh in National League Cy Young Award voting.

Before 2024, it might have been hard to imagine King as an elite starter — or a Padre. Now, San Diego is in the difficult position of forging ahead without him, for however long that might last.

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