Padres Option Decisions Start With King Opting Out

The San Diego Padres have a host of option decisions to make on a variety of players, and the process began in earnest with the news that starter Michael King has opted out, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post and multiple other sources. 

This isn’t a surprise at all, nor is it surprising that King did this literally hours after the World Series ended on Wednesday night. He’s going to be the Padres' biggest decision, but they’re expected to have plenty of competition if they want to retain him. 

The contract speculation about what it will take to keep King is all over the map money-wise. 

The decision will start with long-term vs. short-term, as most of what’s been put out so far has the 31-year old right-hander getting a 5-6 year deal. There’s also the far less likely possibility that King gets a shorter, more lucrative overpay offer, and an AAV of $30 million is the ballpark number for the former. 

The Padres’ ability to retain King is considered a test for the new ownership group. The Padres already have more long-term deals than they’d like, but they might not have a choice with King given the sketchy state of their rotation right now. 

There would also be considerable risk in low-balling King or trying to overpay him on a shorter deal, as the free agent market is very hard to predict right now with the lockout coming and the GM meetings set to begin on Nov. 9. 

San Diego also has other option decisions to make, although King is by far the most important one. There’s a club option for starter Nick Pivetta that will probably be picked up for $14 million, but that also gives the right-hander an option for $18 million in 2028, per MLBTradeRumors.com.

Next up on the option decision tree is reliever Yuki Matsui, who can opt out of his remaining two years and $13.5 million. The Padres will face competition to retain him as well, as Matsui pitched well this year and was being used as a high-leverage reliever in the late innings by manager Craig Stammen. 

The rest of the players on the Padres’ list are a mix-and-match affair. The top priorities are expected to be secondary relievers Wandy Peralta and Kyle Hart, with Peralta a possibility to opt out of his $4.45 million option for 2027 and draw some interest. 

The list finishes with DH Miguel Andujar and pitchers Lucas Giolito and Griffin Canning, with Canning almost certainly gone and Andujar a possibility as the Padres consider multiple DH options.