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Latest Predictions Have Padres Losing One Of King, Morejon
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- Latest Predictions Have Padres Losing One Of King, Morejon
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The five-day quiet period after the World Series ends tonight, so we'll start seeing players sign deals across the league. For a San Diego Padres team determined to contend year after year, this offseason needs to be successful.
To be successful in the offseason, the Padres have to carefully navigate some of their best players hitting the open market. Their ace from last season, right-hander Michael King, elected to opt out of the final two years of his contract that he signed last offseason in hopes of inking an even bigger deal in the coming weeks.
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King's 3.21 ERA and 4.3 bWAR in 2026 make him the second-best starter to hit the open market this winter, meaning a big payout is certainly in line for the 31-year-old. Such a successful season from King in 2026 benefited the Padres immensely during the season, but it'll make it that much harder to bring him back in free agency.
Still, in Bleacher Report's latest predictions for the free-agent class's top 25 players, writer Tim Kelly predicts King will continue pitching in a Padres uniform in 2027. To make it happen, San Diego will need to give more money than last offseason's $75 million over three years. A qualifying offer attached to King last offseason allowed the Padres to bring him back without immense competition, but that hesitancy is no longer there for clubs across the league in search of a top-end starter.
San Diego's new owners clearly still have the same hunger for more as the fans do, so you have to expect they'll be doing whatever they can to keep King's arm in Petco Park. But it's not just King they have to worry about, as reliever Adrian Morejon enters the open market as the best reliever in this year's class.
Unlike the prediction for King, however, Bleacher Report predicts Morejon will leave San Diego and sign with the Atlanta Braves.
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While not being in the closing role with the Padres because of the freak of nature that is Mason Miller, Morejon absolutely has the stuff to close games. His 2.83 ERA and 2.37 FIP should have him in line for a big payday in the coming weeks, despite the league's history of hesitancy when it comes to signing relievers on a long-term deal.
The Padres have several others hitting free agency, namely Casey Mize, Robbie Ray, and Ty France, but they only have so much power to bring them all back. General manager A.J. Preller will have to pick and choose who is most valuable to the club in their quest for a deeper postseason run, but even then, they may not be able to outpay rival clubs to retain their stars. If they can only keep one of King and Morejon, you have to expect them to prioritize King due to their more urgent need for starting pitching help.
