Padres Star Very Happy Yankees Traded Him to San Diego

The San Diego Padres certainly gave up a lot to get Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals in August 2022. Former Padres prospects CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and James Wood have turned into regulars for the Nationals, who are still emerging from the rebuild that began in earnest with the Soto trade.

On the other hand, the Padres got a lot back when they traded Soto to the New York Yankees in December 2023. It's hard to imagine the 2024 season without the contributions of Michael King, Kyle Higashioka, Randy Vasquez and Dylan Cease — whom the Padres acquired in a separate trade package centered around Drew Thrope, the pitching prospect they acquired from the Yankees in the Soto deal.

Assessing which team ultimately won and lost each trade will take years to sort out. At least King counts himself a winner of the deal that sent him from New York to San Diego.

“I definitely think I was given a longer leash as a starter over here,” King said this week in New York, via 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.”

King finished the 2023 season in the Yankees' rotation after beginning the year in the bullpen. It was an impressive cameo; King posted a 1.88 ERA over eight starts after converting, a notable decrease from his 3.26 ERA as a reliever.

That brief glimpse into King's potential as a starter prompted Padres general manager AJ Preller to ask for the right-hander as part of the package for Soto. Yankees GM Brian Cashman went on the record about not wanting to deal King, but landing Soto helped New York return to the World Series for the first time in 15 years.

Meanwhile, King is thriving in San Diego. He's 17-10 with a 2.80 ERA in 39 games (38 starts) as a Padre. This year he's 4-1 with a 2.22 ERA and has already thrown a complete-game shutout.

“I was going to come in as a starter in 2024, had the trade not happened,” King said. “But you have no idea. They have a ton of talent over there that has emerged. … I'm very happy with where I'm at.”

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