The San Diego Padres are reportedly listening to trade offers for breakout starting pitcher Michael King. King was excellent down the stretch last year, but he’s entering free agency after the 2025 season and the Padres likely won’t be able to pay the money it’ll take to re-sign him in free agency.

Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer recently projected the Boston Red Sox to be among the top ten teams interested in King this winter. “The Red Sox have already added two starters in Crochet and Buehler, both of whom have ace upside. Yet they may still be open to adding an arm, and they were notably linked to Dylan Cease in December,” Rymer wrote. “The Cease connection came out prior to the Crochet trade, though. And while Boston does have a ton of surplus hitting talent, the best way to leverage it would be in a trade for an impact pitcher who is young and controllable. King is neither.”

While Rymer notes that the Red Sox should pursue a young and controllable pitcher, King, though he doesn’t fit this criteria, could still make quite a bit of sense. First of all, the righty is extremely talented. He found his footing among the top right-handed pitchers in the game down the stretch last season. Fitting King into the Red Sox’s rotation next to Garrett Crochet would be quite easy. Boston also has the money to re-sign him when he hits free agency. Spotrac projects King to be worth $71 million over four years when he hits free agency, which is a number the Red Sox could easily give him.