King's rocky spring outing overshadows a sluggish lineup. Can the Padres' key acquisitions find their stride before the season?
Monday brought another loss for the San Diego Padres, bringing their record to 4-7 through the first week and a half of spring training. With players who will be big pieces of the 2026 roster playing on Monday, the loss to the Athletics is a tough one for Padres fans.
The hardest part was watching right-hander Michael King have a poor game from the bump. Pitching in 2 ⅓ innings, King allowed five hits, two walks, and four runs in his second start of spring. After re-signing on a three-year deal for $75 million back in the offseason, it’s a discouraging performance from the player that the San Diego front office went and spent their money on this winter.
Still, less than three innings is not an indication of what’s to come for King in 2026, as he is coming off a 3.44 ERA season last year. King’s main concern is his durability after being limited to only 73 ⅓ innings in 2025. Though he wasn't stellar on the mound against the Athletics on Monday, seeing King out on the mound and throwing in-game is an encouraging sight.
The Padres' lineup only managed five hits in the game, even with players like Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth, and Ramon Laureano getting at-bats in the game. 2026 signee, infielder Sung-Mun Song, was one of the few to get on base, although he also recorded an error in the field.
San Diego is relying on catcher Freddy Fermin to have a great season after trading for him at last year’s deadline, but he also hasn’t been great this spring and went hitless on Monday. His OPS sits at .500 through 10 at-bats. Late offseason addition Nick Castellanos is a similar story, as he also went hitless against the A’s, taking his batting average this spring down to .154.
Perhaps the hardest part of Monday’s game to watch for Padres fans was seeing their former top prospect, Leo De Vries, continue his great spring for the opponent. Recording two hits and scoring a run, De Vries sent a message to his former club, which traded him for closer Mason Miller at last season’s deadline.
It wasn’t all negative, however, as outfielder Jase Bowen launched a home run in the ninth inning to continue his great spring, where he’s now batting .353 with a 1.097 OPS. Right-hander Logan Gillaspie had a nice showing from the bullpen, striking out three batters and allowing nobody on base in 2 ⅔ scoreless innings.
The Friars are back at it again on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m. at Camelback Ranch.