The San Diego Padres blitzed the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card series, 8-0, to put themselves one win away from a date with the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS. Plenty of Padres deserve credit for Tuesday night's dominant performance, but none more than soon-to-be-free agent Michael King.
San Diego's ace put together one of the best postseason starts in recent memory, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He finished with seven scoreless frames, allowing one hit, three walks and recording eight strikeouts. As Padres fans celebrate King's masterclass, prospective free agency suitors are chomping at the bit. Here are a few potential landing spots:
Atlanta Braves
The Braves rotation is a bit scarce behind Chris Sale. Tyler Mahle has eviscerated the competition since arriving at the trade deadline, but he's a free agent next winter. AJ Smith-Shawver, J.R. Ritchie and Owen Murphy are all exciting young arms, but it's unclear which of them will click as full-time starters — and how soon. Martín Pérez, one of this season's great surprises for Atlanta, is also an upcoming free agent.
Atlanta doesn't typically pay sticker price on free agent pitchers but there is immense pressure to compete now — right now — in the twilight years of Sale's career. He won't be able to anchor this rotation forever and the Braves need to start hedging their bets, just in case Father Time catches up.
King, with a 3.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, has made 32 starts and pitched a career-high 185 innings this season. The Braves need depth and dependability most desperately, and that's something King can provide. It doesn't hurt that he is building a nice postseason résumé for himself.
Baltimore Orioles
Every winter, we all wonder if Baltimore might finally upgrade its pitching staff. The Corbin Burnes era burned bright and fast. Shane Baz was a savvy trade addition last winter, but the Orioles still struggled to field five quality, healthy starters for the 162-game duration of the regular season.
Trevor Rogers, their best pitcher two years running, will now enter free agency. That leaves Baltimore's front office will a clear and immediate need in the rotation. It seems like the O's new ownership group will, on some level, spend more than the previous administration. The Pete Alonso signing was a stark departure from business as usual in Baltimore. As such, it's not hard to envision the O's ponying up for a second-tier ace like Michael King; the Tarik Skubals of the world are still outside their price range, no doubt.
If Kyle Bradish can finally get healthy for a year, and if the O's deign to re-sign Rogers (or pursue another mid-rotation arm in addition to King), this rotation could shape up quite nicely. Baltimore has the offensive firepower to compete in the AL East. King can help round out a postseason-caliber roster.
Toronto Blue Jays
A nightmare Blue Jays season has finally come to an end, but Toronto should be right back in the postseason fray next season with better luck and an productive winter. The Jays front office is probably the most aggressive in baseball outside of L.A. or New York.
Last offseason, their big fish was Dylan Cease, who immediately turned in a Cy Young-caliber campaign. At the trade deadline, Toronto did not strictly sell, despite sitting near the bottom of the standings. The Jays went out and added José Soriano, another frontline starter at the peak of his powers.
Toronto can expect a healtheir Trey Yesavage in 2027, too, so a premium free agent addition (like King) could quickly transform the Blue Jays rotation into one of the deepest and most fearsome in the American League. If Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Toronto's boppers put their best foot forward, there's no reason Toronto can't win the division and compete (again) for a World Series.
Houston Astros
The Astros went bullpen against bullpen in their AL Wild Card series opener against the White Sox. Houston was lucky Chicago only managed six runs, with many, many base-runners stranded in scoring position. That did not mean much for the Astros, unfortunately, as the Chicago bullpen — against all odds — mostly kept a more seasoned Houston lineup in check.
Houston has a proper 1A ace in Hunter Brown, but the rotation behind him is total patchwork. Peter Lambert put together a solid campaign and Ethan Pecko faired well in his first taste of MLB action, but the Astros can't really trust anyone besides Brown. Tatsuya Imai, their prized free agent addition last winter, was little more than a bulk reliever in his rookie season.
The Astros have gotten cheaper and cheaper in recent years and the results are getting worse and worse, predictably. Still, this core has competed for a World Series in the not-so-distant past, and we know ownership is capable of spending at the upper echelon of free agency. King would do a lot to solidify the Astros' pitching plans in 2027.
Chicago Cubs
Injuries decimated the Cubs rotation this season. Justin Steele, Cade Horton and Ben Brown should all return in 2027, which is a major, natural influx of talent. If Edward Cabrera can rebound, the Cubs rotation will be all rainbows and sunshine — at least on paper.
But as this season once again reminded us, what happens "on paper" almost never translates to reality. Shōta Imanaga and Matthew Boyd are both upcoming free agents. Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, Chicago's emergency deadline rentals, are also halfway out the door. There's uncertainty around how exactly the likes of Steele and Horton will perform coming off of major elbow surgeries, too. So the Cubs should play it safe and hyper-focus on pitching depth.
The rotation could be what sends Chicago home against San Diego. So, why not use the Padres own weapons against them in free agency and sign King? "Stability" is a word that comes to mind with King, and that's exactly what the Cubs need right now.
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