Padres' Michael King Could Be Limited Down the Stretch

King has a bruised calf and a skyrocketing innings total.

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Padres starter Michael King is expected to make a his next start this week against the Pittsburgh Pirates after getting cleared to do so amid a bruised calf injury.

King was struck by a comebacker on July 27 during his most recent start against the Baltimore Orioles, but will make another start just less than two weeks after his calf getting injured. King missed just one turn in the rotation.

The Padres will have to consider preserving King and his arm heading into the end of the season and a potential postseason run. King has pitched the most innings in a season of his career already, having pitched 124.1 innings so far through the 2024 season.

Prior to this season, King had at most pitched 104.2 innings a season, which he did during the 2023 season while with the New York Yankees.

Prior to joining the Padres along with Jhony Brito, Kyle Higashioka, Randy Vásquez, and Drew Thorpe as part of the Padres trading Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees, King was primarily a relief pitcher. King started games in three of his five MLB seasons before joining San Diego, but never started more than nine games in any one season.

This season, King has started all but one of the games he has appeared in. King is 9-6 with a 3.26 ERA and 144 strikeouts.

King was pitching strong through the summer, posting a 2.67 ERA in June and a 1.82 ERA in July. He has given up more than two earned runs in a start just once over these two months.

The Padres need King at peak strength heading toward October. He leads the Padres' starters in ERA so far this season, and has been consistent.

While the Padres are hoping to get Joe Musgrove back and are hopeful ace Yu Darvish can return before the end of the season, neither has proven the ability to consistently stay on the mound.

One way the Padres could help alleviate their reliance on King is by using him for fewer than six innings during starts. After trading for closer Tanner Scott before the July 30 MLB trade deadline, the Padres have more depth in the bullpen to keep their starters in for less time.

King has pitched at least six innings in five of his last six starts, and limiting him to four or five innings could potentially help suppress his innings total.

“If we were in another organization, (the innings) would probably matter a little bit more,” Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “For me personally, I want to dig into what’s real versus just a number that has been put out there by … I don’t know who.”