New Padres Starter Rejects Idea of an Innings Limit

The former New York Yankee wants a chance to prove himself as a starting pitcher.

When a player headlines the return in a trade for a superstar player, they come with heavy expectations. Michael King, the premier player in the Juan Soto trade, wants his chance to shine as a starting pitcher for the Padres.

King, 28, made his major league debut with the New York Yankees in 2019. He was up and down with the major league club, but they primarily used him as a relief pitcher over his five seasons in the Bronx.

In 115 major league appearances, King has actually finished more games (24) than he's started (19). Now, with the Padres, he wants to finally make the transition to a full-time starter.

King spoke to the Padres' broadcasters during a recent spring training game. He opened up about his expectations for himself and his usage this year. As quoted in a recent article by A.J. Cassavell of MLB.com, King said:

"That was actually one of my first questions I asked [pitching coach] Ruben [Niebla]. I said I just don’t want an innings count. I don’t want a limit. I don’t want to even think that if I get to a certain amount of innings that that’s too much, and then I think I should feel fatigued when I really don’t."

— Michael King, via Padres TV

The right-hander has only thrown 100 innings three times in his professional career. He reached that mark for the first time at the major league level last year. That was the first time since 2019 he has hit that milestone. 

Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla stopped short of saying King would have no innings limit:

"And Ruben was like, ‘Are you kidding me? We’re going to let you go. We’re definitely going to monitor it. But you just go.'"

— Michael King, via Padres TV

Despite King's wishes, the Padres will probably try to limit his innings one way or another, either by pulling him from games early or limiting his starts. The Friars don't have as much depth in the starting rotation as last year, so it's paramount they get through the season with their pitchers healthy.

King shined last year in 104.2 innings, by far his most at the major league level. He started the year as a reliever, ended in the Yankees' rotation, and compiled a 2.75 ERA. The Padres will look to him to be the third man in their rotation behind Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish.