The Padres' season ended Wednesday. Now come the decisions on France, King, and a whole rotation
Ty France says San Diego is where he wants to be, and Michael King called his $28 million option a "future decision" after a season that ended in a four-game NLDS loss to Milwaukee.
SAN DIEGO: The Padres went 91-71 this season, finished second in the National League West, swept the Cubs in the Wild Card Series, and then lost to the Brewers in four games and went home. The season ended Wednesday with a 3-1 loss in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. By Thursday, the conversation had moved to who stays and who goes.
Two of the franchise's most important contract questions carry first baseman Ty France and right-hander Michael King, and both men sounded like they would rather not leave.
France slashed .295/.363/.502 with 21 home runs over 500 plate appearances this season, a resurgent year after he signed a minor-league contract with the Padres in February and made the Opening Day roster. San Diego drafted him in the 34th round in 2015 out of San Diego State and traded him to Seattle in 2020. Speaking to the San Diego Union-Tribune after the Game 4 loss, he addressed free agency directly. "I love this place," France said. "I don't know what the offseason's going to look like or what's in store... but I've said it since spring training: this is where I want to be."
King's $28 million question
King holds a $28 million player option for 2027, with a $5 million buyout if he walks away, plus a $30 million player option for 2028 if he stays in the deal. He called the choice "a future decision" after the Milwaukee loss but was open about what San Diego means to him and his family. "This is where we started a family. We started our foundation here," he said, in comments reported by the Union-Tribune.
The right-hander is coming off one of his strongest seasons: 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA, 159 strikeouts and a 1.18 WHIP across 185 innings in 32 starts, with no injured-list stint. He carried it into October with a 0.64 ERA across three postseason appearances, including seven one-hit innings against the Cubs in the Wild Card Series.
The rotation math
King is expected to decline the $28 million option and test the market, and he is the biggest piece of a rotation the Padres will have to rebuild. The club is likely to exercise Nick Pivetta's $14 million club option for 2027, while the mutual options for Lucas Giolito and Griffin Canning are likely to be declined. Robbie Ray, Walker Buehler, and Casey Mize are free agents. Joe Musgrove is under contract, and Randy Vasquez and J.P. Sears remain under team control.
For a team whose season ended on a roof ball in Milwaukee and a Game 4 loss at Petco Park, the winter will be about arithmetic as much as sentiment. France wants to stay. King started a family here. The front office has to decide what each is worth, and how many arms it can buy with the answers.
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