A player San Diego Padres might consider discussing a long-term deal with this winter’s starting pitcher, Michael King, who is in line for a significant raise in his final year of arbitration eligibility.

While the Padres If they want to keep King and he has developed a strong attachment to San Diego, the chances of them agreeing on a multi-year deal appear slim any time soon.

The 29-year-old King, who is expected to earn between $8 million and $11 million in 2025, could earn more than $20 million per year on a long-term contract in 2026 if he continues his strong 2024 season (30 starts, 2 .95 ERA). with another solid performance.

King made history as the first Major League Baseball pitcher to strike out 12 batters without allowing a run or walk in his postseason debut. It was the kind of performance the Padres were hoping for when they traded him, despite the fact that he had never completed a full season as a starting pitcher.

King entered spring training aiming to throw 180 innings. However, Ruben Niebla, known for his expertise and open-minded approach, suggested that a more realistic goal was closer to 150 innings, similar to the jump made by Seth Lugo from 65 innings with the Mets in 2022 to 146, 1 for the Padres in 2023.

For much of this season, from May to August, the media regularly questioned how long King could continue making starts every four or five days, given his inexperience as a full-time starter.

However, King has proven to be the most reliable starter in the Padres’ rotation. It’s been a long road for him to become that guy in San Diego, but he’s grateful it happened.

“I felt like I wasn’t myself in April and May,” King said. “I was learning a lot of things. I was giving up a lot of circuits. I walked a lot of people. And I know that just wasn’t me as a pitcher in general. And then things started to click.

“It wasn’t like there was one thing I could come back to that clicked. But then I thought back to the race in June, July where I felt like I had mastered almost every one of my throws Every time I went there, I felt like I was giving the team a chance to win every time and I talked to Ruben (Niebla) about it. I said, “Wow, I just make a good pass where I was then like a real starter Instead of trying to figure out which pitches work that day, which pitches I should go to, it was like, “I have my strengths. I know the hitter’s weaknesses, and I just go out there and give our team the best chance to win.