Padres could be headed to first arbitration hearing since 2014 (original) (raw)

After a decade of avoiding the potentially damaging exercise of going to an arbitration hearing with one of their players, it appears the Padres are on a course to do so with one of their best starting pitchers.

The team failed to come to an agreement on a one-year contract with Michael King by Thursday’s deadline, and the parties submitted their proposed arbitration numbers later in the day.

The Padres proposed a 2025 salary of 7.325millionwhileKingfiledaproposedsalaryof7.325 million while King filed a proposed salary of 7.325millionwhileKingfiledaproposedsalaryof8.8 million, and sources familiar with the discussions said it seems an arbitration hearing in February is all but inevitable.

Should that happen, a three-person panel will hear arguments from the Padres and King’s agent and choose which side’s number will be the pitcher’s 2025 salary.

The Padres did agree to terms with their other five arbitration-eligible players — infielder Luis Arraez ($14 million), starting pitcher Dylan Cease ($13.75 million), reliever Jason Adam ($4.8 million), pitcher Adrián Morejón ($2 million) and catcher Luis Campusano ($1 million).

But the potential of the organization’s first arbitration case since A.J. Preller took over the Padres baseball operations department before the 2015 season was most notable.

The last arbitration hearing the Padres had was when starting pitcher Andrew Cashner won his case in 2014.

Preller loathes the idea of a procedure in which the team has to essentially devalue a player over what is generally a relatively small gap in salary demands. But the team drew a line this time based on the chasm between their thinking.

King presents a unique case in that 2024 was his first season as a full-time starter, and he excelled in the role.

While a deal could materialize before a hearing, King and the Padres are clearly at odds over what they believe his value is for ‘25.

An agreement on a one-year deal after the deadline that passed Thursday is rare. Sometimes, teams and players agree to multi-year contracts before going to arbitration.

The Padres would like to lock up King on a long-term deal.

But the sides have not discussed that aim, and there are multiple challenges toward that end. Those hurdles include the team’s need to stay under the Competitive Balance Tax threshold in 2025 and the lack of comparable pitchers by which to base King’s worth. The latter was clearly an issue in the attempt to reach agreement before Thursday’s deadline.

King, a 29-year-old right-hander, finished seventh in National League Cy Young voting in 2024. He ranked fifth in the NL with a 2.95 ERA and 201 strikeouts and was second on the Padres and 14th in the NL with 173⅔ innings.

King, like Cease and Arraez, is in his final year of arbitration eligibility and is due to be a free agent after the upcoming season.

Arraez received a 3.4millionraiseoverhis3.4 million raise over his 3.4millionraiseoverhis10.6 million salary last season.

More pertinent when considering King’s case is the fact Cease received a 5.75millionraisefromthe5.75 million raise from the 5.75millionraisefromthe8 million he made in 2024 while posting an ERA that was higher than Cease’s (3.47). Cease finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting (his second top-five finish), threw more innings (189⅓) than King and had a higher strikeout rate (29.4% to 27.7%).

King made $3.15 million in 2024.

This story was updated with further reporting.

Originally Published: January 9, 2025 at 10:40 AM PST