The New York Yankees obviously wanted to keep Trint Grisham around when they extended the qualifying offer to him; at least, it seemed like they were content with him taking the deal.
Grisham ended up taking the contract for $22.05 million for the 2026 season, but there are other players who didn't take the qualifying offer that the Yankees can go after.
Among the options for them to pursue, former Yankees pitcher and current San Diego Padres free agent Michael King should be at the top of that list.
Throughout some of King's career, he's proven that he can be one of the better starters in baseball, but the injury history is certainly something to consider. He only threw in 15 games this past season due to injuries, so his price might be lower than most expect.
When predicting where players would land after declining qualifying offers, Chris Landers of FanSided recently predicted that King would end up in the Bronx again, saying that he has ace upside when healthy and could be a great addition to the current Yankees’ staff.
“With Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt all set to start the 2026 season on the IL, New York needs to bolster its starting pitching depth. But they also have bigger fish to fry, like, for example, assembling a new starting outfield.
“King has ace upside when he's healthy, but his limited track record and recent injury concerns could keep him in New York's price range. Plus, King came up in the Yankees' system — he was the centerpiece of the Juan Soto trade, remember — and could view a short-term stop in New York as the best way to rebuild his value and hit the market again after a strong season or two,” he wrote.
It's tough to evaluate King in some sense because of these injuries, but if we look at his entire body of work, we see one of the better starters in the game.
I'm more interested in what he did in 2024 than worrying about injuries as of now, as he posted a 2.95 ERA and started in 31 games that year.
Depending on the price, even if it gets a bit higher than some might like, I think it's fair to say that the Yankees would be making a good decision by signing him.