So far this offseason, the Boston Red Sox have made two additions to their starting rotation. They acquired Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals and Johan Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
They need more arms behind ace Garrett Crochet at the top of their rotation. In free agency, Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres landed with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Framber Valdez is still available. Boston is not expected to be in the market for him.
There is one other free agent arm that is being coveted, and that is former Padres right-hander Michael King. According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox are in the mix for him and one of three teams he’s considering.
Red Sox Reportedly in Final Three For Michael King
According to Abraham, the Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Baltimore Orioles are the three teams he’s considering.
“Sources: Red Sox, Yankees, and Orioles are competing for Michael King, and the RHP from BC hopes to make a decision soon. King, 30, was 18-12, 3.10 for the Padres the last two seasons. Profiles as the No. 2 the Sox need. We’ll see if they step up. King certainly knows the terrain of the AL East,” Abraham wrote.
King certainly knows the AL East from his time with the Yankees. He was a key piece of the Juan Soto trade in December of 2023 that went to San Diego. He had a strong first season in Southern California before injuries hampered his 2025 season.
Baltimore has already made a splash this winter, landing Pete Alonso from the New York Mets last week at the Winter Meetings. They beat out the Red Sox and Mets for the power-hitting right-hander. Now they are in the mix to land King from two division rivals.
Red Sox Need Michael King
Let’s not beat around the bush. Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow needs to find a way to get King over the Orioles and Yankees. Major League Baseball Trade Rumors predicts King to get a four-year, $80 million contract this offseason. Anthony Franco of MLBTR also mentioned a durability issue with the 30-year-old after a nerve injury in his throwing shoulder.
“Durability is the big question. The shoulder issue wasn’t structural but proved a lot more problematic than initially expected. He wound up missing almost three months and showed signs of rust when he returned late in the season. King gave up 12 runs while tallying all of 17 1/3 innings over five starts in the second half. His velocity was fine, but he only managed 12 strikeouts while issuing nine free passes,” Franco wrote.
Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that King might sign a shorter-term deal than other starters, which would make sense if teams have questions surrounding his durability coming off his injury.
There are not many offseasons where the Red Sox, Yankees, and Orioles are the final three for a free agent starting pitcher. Baltimore, however, is making this a different offseason in terms of spending. All three teams know that competing with the Blue Jays requires making some big offseason spending decisions. Now all three are competing for one of the remaining top rotation arms for 2026.
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