August 15: King spoke to reporters, including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, about his injury today. He says an MRI showed no structural damage and he hopes to return when first eligible.
August 14: The Padres announced that right-hander Michael King has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left knee inflammation, retroactive to August 11th. Right-hander Randy Vásquez has been recalled in the corresponding move.
The Friars haven’t yet provided any information about King’s injury or how long they expect him to be out of action. His IL placement is a notable development regardless. The Padres just passed the Dodgers to take a one-game lead in the National League West. The two clubs open a three-game series against each other in Los Angeles tomorrow with the division lead on the line. King was scheduled to take the ball in the first game but that will no longer be the case. Perhaps Vásquez will take the ball instead. Dylan Cease, scheduled to start Saturday, could start Friday instead and still be on regular rest.
For King, it continues what has already been an injury-marred season. He landed on the IL in late May due to shoulder inflammation. That injury once seemed fairly innocuous, as King woke up feeling some discomfort after sleeping on his shoulder awkwardly. It was later revealed that he was battling an issue with his thoracic nerve. It took him over two months to return to the big league club.
Once he was healthy enough to get back on the mound, his return to the majors was swift. He made just one rehab start, which was on August 3rd. He tossed 61 pitches over 3 1/3 innings for Triple-A El Paso, allowing six earned runs. The Padres nonetheless activated him from the IL to start Saturday’s big league game. It took him 57 pitches to get through two innings against the Red Sox, allowing two earned runs in the process.
Evidently, some knee inflammation popped up between that start and today. There’s nothing to indicate King is in for an extended absence but it’s still not a great development for the club. King had a tremendous breakout with San Diego last year. He tossed 173 2/3 innings with a 2.95 earned run average, 27.7% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. His rate stats were fairly similar this year before landing on the IL.
Ideally, the Padres would have that kind of production in their rotation, not only in the regular season but also in the playoffs. Perhaps King can get back on track in a few weeks but this is surely a setback they didn’t want.
They now go into the next few weeks with a rotation consisting of Cease, Yu Darvish, Nestor Cortes, Nick Pivetta and perhaps Vásquez. Guys like JP Sears, Matt Waldron and Kyle Hart are on optional assignment. Pivetta’s having a great year but Cease has a 4.86 ERA over his past ten starts. Darvish and Cortes have both been on the IL for most of the season. Having King back to his 2024 self would have made the group much stronger but he’s back on the shelf. Tomorrow’s game in Los Angeles is the first of 13 in a row without an off-day.
It’s also not a good development for King personally, as he’s an impending free agent. After his tremendous 2024 campaign and in the early parts of this year, he was trending towards being one of the top free agent starters of the 2025-26 offseason, with a good shot at a nine-figure deal. His monthslong summer absence put a cloud of uncertainty around him and put a big dent in his earning power.
Getting back to the majors could have been the first step towards putting him back on track. Almost two months of solid regular season work followed by a few good postseason starts could have erased the memory of that shoulder injury. That could still happen to some degree, but the window is now narrower.
Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images
Did he sleep funny on his knee?
That’s a real knee slapper.
Perhaps someone told him a knee slapper and he got injured that way…
The Yankees wanted to keep King but went ahead and let him go in the Soto trade because of his proclivity for injury.
Cue grandpa Simpson meme
He had some inflammation in his joints, as was the fashion at the time.
He just missed 3 months
Came back for 2 innings
Back on DL
This is gonna hurt his free agency
Dodgers will be all over this guy come winter….
@Jerry Hairston Jr.’s Toupee, as with all ridiculous Dodger FA predictions made in the last 2 years, I’ll bookmark this and get back with you on it.
The joke went over someone’s head….
No, it won’t hurt his free agency at all. There are plenty of teams that like to bid on injured players.
He is the type of pitcher that the Dodgers tend to sign or trade for. High upside but injury history. Boston or Atlanta could probably use him more though.
San Diego could use him next year as well and now with the injury marred season, might be able to afford him long term.
I could see him taking a one year deal with Pads to build up value for a longer deal in ’27.
He has a mutual option for 2026, and it’s rare those are ever exercised, but in this case maybe?
Brew- zero chance he takes that option. He will take the buyout and at worst get QO money. Most likely he will still get 100m.
Yeah, by rare I meant nearly zero. It never happens
After this season I think I would give Cease a little more consideration
It could be renegotiated on a 1 year deal at a higher yearly rate with another option tacked on to it.
Lil bit of karma for the padres fans for always gloating on Dodgers injuries
I don’t think you know what karma is.
The crap you consistently throw on padre’s threads isn’t helping the doyers karma, that’s for sure.
Plenty of season left, rest up King
Next man up, you got this Pads. It would be so boring if everything ran so smoothly.
Hey I prefer boring when it comes to making the playoffs!
Then you should be a Dodgers fan. Even when they are playing as poorly as they have been lately, they make the playoffs.
Actually a Braves fan myself and you know how bad they have been this year. A lot of fans would love to have their teams make the playoffs every year. And mine have done so in the past, but aside from 2021 they don’t do anything once they get there.
You can’t always be the hottest team in the playoffs, no matter how you build the team. The best you can do is consistently give your team a chance by participating in the playoffs.
Look at Arizona a few years ago. Hottest team at the right time, and made it to the WS.
He just came off the IL after a long stint…
King would have dominated the choking Dodgers this weekend.
“King would have dominated”..Tom Brady’s ex, Giselle Bundchen, would also have “dominated” the Dodgers this weekend, the way they’re currently playing.
then come back on 1 days rest and do it again pitching underhand.
I thought you people were adamant that the Dodgers were going 162-0?
Reactionaries…
I blame this injury on the Dodgers. Obviously.
Loading up on pitching depth at the deadline looks better all the time.
AJ Preller > Jed Hoyer. By worlds.
“Loading up on pitching”…I’ve been an extremely harsh critic of A.J Prellar the last several years, but have recently(last yr) come around. AJ is completely fearless in making deals and obviously has the complete trust and support of ownership.
Someone(likely A.J)is doing some pretty amazing drafting, allowing Prellar to put together high-end, accepted trade packages seemingly every year. I’ve finally recognized the top level front office executive that is A.J Prellar.
Same.
I might be inclined to agree if or when they win a championship. Until then, he’s just a guy who likes to make changes often. He’s creating a competitive ball club annually, but so are the Rays, Guardians and Brewers, without all the commotion, and at a much lower cost to ownership. It’s fun to witness though, so I’ll give him that!
@kripes-brewers
Except fans show up when the Pads are playing well. You can call it commotion/hype with the help of the media but it’s marketing and they’re not a boring team.
After he blew out Buddy Black and started the “Rock Star” GM moves I was not impressed. Since the passing of Peter and the associated drama he has put together some good rosters in a challenging situation. I think he’s doing a great job. LFGSD!
As for pitching depth, another injury to SP and we might regret the Bergert + Kolek for Fermin trade even though the Ferminator has been great.
On the flip side they signed Sears and Cortes, and Cortes anyway has looked solid
I had sticker shock when I saw the price tag was Bergert and Kolek. That said, catchers with any offensive upside (like 80 OPS+ and up) are always at a premium.
Hoping that King is fine and can come back for good following this latest IL stint.
At least Sears and Cortes were acquired as insurance.
Padres around the trade deadline are rarely boring.
Hated to see both Bergert and Kolek go to KC.
Wish AJ had convinced KC to take one of his top starter prospects @ A ball in substitute for one of his depth starters…
Big red flag for his free agency bid that he can’t stay healthy this year. Buyer beware.
This is the sound of $100 million being flushed down the toilet.
I appreciate the innings he ate this year, but IDK how Vasquez gets the start over Sears. Neither are great options, but at least Sears can command the zone.
suhg
“IDK how Vasquez gets the start over Sears”
Almost certainly because Sears pitched on Tuesday.
Good catch, but with an off-day yesterday, they could easily move up Cease and Darvish before Sears would throw on Sunday.
Don’t move up a guy like Yu that’s coming off injury himself.
Don’t move up Cease who has finally found his arm slot after struggling.
It’d be 5 days’ rest for both.
I haven’t yet heard that Vasquez gets the start tomorrow. Could be a bullpen game with Vasquez involved.
I don’t like the idea of a bullpen game opening a series. Vasquez is bad. I don’t think Sears is world better, but I’d feel better with him starting.
I would prefer Sears but he pitched 2 days ago
vasquez is far from bad !
He might have the worst underlying peripherals of any MLB starter.
Vasquez gets the job done. His ERA shows that clearly. Sears does not. His ERA shows that clearly. Plus Sears started for El Paso on Tuesday.
Side note, Sears eliminated 2 pitches out of his 6 pitch repertoire in that game on Tuesday and only walked 1 in 5 IP. He gave up a 2 run homer to the next batter after that walk, so some things didn’t change, but he cut down on how many different pitches he through and it made a difference in his command on the ones he did throw. 4-seam, sinker, sweeper, and curveball. No changeups or cutter/sliders.
A pitchers job is to prevent runs. Vasquez has done that better than Sears.
His job is not peripherals. His job is results.
Padres fans can live with one loss every five games, come on, that’s like .800 baseball the rest of the way!!! You guys will be OK!!!
What do you guys think of stretching Morejon out as a starter for next season? I know he started out as a starter (I guess they all do) but found more consistency in the pen. But now that he’s got it figured out, maybe they can refurbish him back as a starter for 2026.
Padees are 14-8 in Vasquez’s 22 starts… .637 winning percentage.
Morejon didn’t have a lot of success as a SP, but who knows? He is super valuable as a L RP now, someone who can get Ohtani Ks
And peripherals are a better indicator of future results than past results.
@Ignorant
The Pads win when Vasquez starts. They’ve won a similar percentage of his starts as when Nick Pivetta goes, i.e. their best starter this year.
The formula is Vasquez + the shutdown bullpen, but it ain’t broke, and just got stronger at the deadline.
suhg
“And peripherals are a better indicator of future results than past results.”
Yes
And no
Yes because the stats that people refer to as peripherals are usually more direct measures of a player’s talent and because of that they need a smaller sample to be useful.
No because peripheral stats ARE past performance.
Padres Fan
“A pitchers job is to prevent runs. Vasquez has done that better than Sears.
His job is not peripherals. His job is results.”
Not sure how people who are at all knowledgeable about baseball can say crazy things like this
1) peripheral stats ARE results. 100%.
2) peripheral stats are usually better results than other stats because they more directly measure what a player does
3) Teams prevent runs, not just pitchers. Which is ERA is, at best, an very imperfect measure of a pitcher’s performance.
A couple of very obvious examples.
-A pitcher leaves with the bases loaded and 2 outs. The reliever gives up a home run. The first pitcher gets 3 runs charged against them.
-A pitcher leaves with the bases loaded and 2 outs. The reliever gets a strikeout. The first pitcher gets 0 runs charged against them.
3 runs or 0 runs based not on what the pitcher in question did, but what happened then they weren’t even in the game.
JUJZ,
All stats are some parts predictive and descriptive; the question is how much. ERA is almost completely descriptive and has little correlation with future ERA season-to-season. K%, BB%, SwStr%, FStr%, GB%, FB%, etc., are also descriptive, but they are more advantageous because they stabilize quicker and provide better correlation season-to-season. Even those have limits depending on velocity, spin, break, arm slot, etc. We’re swimming in the same waters.
suhg
“ERA is almost completely descriptive”
It’s not even that descriptive. As my example shows.
There have been 16,040 runs scored this season. 1507 of those where inherited runners. Nearly 10% of the runs that get charged to a pitcher score when that pitcher isn’t even pitching.
ERA, kinda, describes how a team pitches. It does a pretty poor job of describing how a player pitched.
“A pitchers job is to prevent runs. Vasquez has done that better than Sears.
His job is not peripherals. His job is results.“
Pads Fans- this is my favorite statement of the season. A lot of people get lost in the weeds of micro-analysis and miss the simplicity of the results that are right in front of them.
gomb
“A lot of people get lost in the weeds of micro-analysis and miss the simplicity of the results that are right in front of them.”
Nah
People oversimplify and underthink and underunderstand.
Teams prevent runs, not pitchers. And ERA does a poor job of reflecting that.
Pitcher S pitches 5.2 innings. They give up 5 hits, 3 walks and strike out 5 batters. They leave the game with the bases loaded and 2 outs.
Pitcher V pitches 5.2 innings. They give up 5 hits, 3 walks and strike out 5 batters. They leave the game with the bases loaded and 2 outs.
Both pitchers pitched the same.
Pitcher S is relieved by Pitcher A who immediately gives up a bases clearing double. How many runs did Pitcher S “allow”?
Pitcher V is relieved by Pitcher B who strikes out the batter to end the inning. How many runs did Pitcher V allow?
ERA would say that Pitcher S allowed 3 runs
ERA would say that Pitcher V allowed 0 runs
ERA would say that Pitcher A allowed 0 runs
ERA would say that Pitcher B allowed 0 runs
ERA is dead wrong.
This is no far-fetched situation. Almost 10% of the runs that have scored this season have scored “against” a pitcher who wasn’t even in the game when they scored. It’s absurd.
Pitchers HELP their teams to prevent runs. Of course. ERA is a poor measure of how well they did that.
Metrics like FIP, xFIP, SIERRA, etc are simply better at measuring what happened.
One of Morejon or Miller is almost a certainty to be stretched out. Preller talked about extending Morejon prior to this season, but passed because he had pitched so few innings in the 2022-2023 seasons. 2024 was his first full season.
SUPGuy, except that they are not. It depends on the pitcher’s game. It also depends on what peripherals you are talking about. GB pitcher’s “peripherals” always point to a worse expected outcome because they don’t strike out many batters. Those peripherals are always wrong.
Same goes for guys that pitch to soft contact. Adrian Morejon is a perfect example, His “peripherals” would point to a guy that should have an ERA in the upper 2s. Nope. He pitches to soft contact. A combination of the pitch, the location, and the progression of pitches. Michael Wacha is another pitcher that fits that profile. You can’t measure what makes them so effective at limiting runs with peripherals of any sort. You just have to know baseball. Vasquez and Sears have the exact same avg EV. Vasquez has a better EV50 per StatCast. Sears has a 4.2 degree higher average launch angle. That is why Sears has a worse HR% and HR/FB%. That also contributes to the -11 run value for Sears and -4 for Vasquez. Neither is a TOR starter. Vasquez has been the most effective #5 starter out of the two.
The only indicators of future performance is past performance. THAT is what peripherals are based on. X stats like xFIP are mostly useless. Anything that is not based on what actually happened is mostly useless.
When two players are very close in their stuff profiles as is the case with Sears and Vasquez you go with the pitcher that got the best bottom line results and Vasquez had the lower ERA. Limiting runs is the most important thing a pitcher does, regardless of his “peripherals” or what his expected stats were.
But they don’t. As an active member of SABR I can tell you there is no definitive research that shows they do.
The reason that SIERA is so good is that it takes into account balls in play and the type of ball in play. GB pitchers and pitchers that induce large percentages of pop ups will never have high K% or SWSTR% because they are pitching to contact. NONE of the metrics take into account pitch location and progression that result in soft or specific types of contact such as being forced to take the ball the other way which results in a lower BA on balls in play and fewer XBH.
SO much more goes into effective pitching and that is why the best measure of performance is runs.
Ghost, I am a card carrying member of SABR and I can get lost in the weeds of stats with the worst of them. In this case there is a lot of reasons why Vasquez has been effective and the bottom line is that he has been extremely effective for a #5 starter at limiting runs from crossing the plate. .
PadsFan
“Anything that is not based on what actually happened is mostly useless.
When two players are very close in their stuff profiles as is the case with Sears and Vasquez you go with the pitcher that got the best bottom line results and Vasquez had the lower ERA.”
Holy not knowing what on earth you’re talking about, Batman.
This whole rant about only using stats based on what actually happened and then using ERA?!?
Does PadsFan not know now ERA works?
Like does PadsFan not know that if the SS boots a grounder with 2 outs and the next batter up homers, ERA just pretends the pitcher didn’t give up a home run?
Like a 1 IP, 2 runs, 0 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
line is totally possible.
Pitcher: gives up 2 runs
ERA: nothing to see here. That homerun was the SS’s fault. Pitcher is just fine. Keep moving.
LOL
That’s the problem with these stat heads, just parrot their meaningless statistics without ever even thinking about what they mean.
“xFIP are mostly useless. Anything that is not based on what actually happened is mostly useless”
xFIP at least counts the flyball. ERA pretends everything after the error didn’t happen.
PadsFan
“Ghost, I am a card carrying member of SABR and I can get lost in the weeds of stats with the worst of them”
PF doesn’t even understand ERA
PadsFan
“SO much more goes into effective pitching and that is why the best measure of performance is runs.”
Reliever allows the three inherited runners to score. The starter was bad.
Reliever strands the three inherited runners. The starter was good.
“ThE bEsT mEaSuRe Of PeRfOrMaNcE iS rUnS”
PadsFan
“GB pitcher’s “peripherals” always point to a worse expected outcome because they don’t strike out many batters. Those peripherals are always wrong.”
This dude is completely full of it
Top 10 pitchers by GB% (minimum 30 innings) with at least 1 of FIP, xFIP or SIERRA lower than their ERA
#3 Stroman. 6.23 ERA, 5.16 FIP, 4.94 xFIP, 5.05 SIERRA
#4 Nola 6.16 ERA, 5.04 FIP, 3.65 xFIP, 3.78 SIERRA
#5 Morton 5.48 ERA, 4.75 FIP, 4.19 xFIP, 4.15 SIERRA
#6 Montas 6.38 ERA, 5.26 FIP, 4.40 xFIP, 4.33 SIERRA
#7 Gray 4.06 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 2.94 xFIP, 3.13 SIERRA
fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&st…
That’s 5 of the 10. A bit more than “never”
Pads Fans
August 15, 2025
“You are really stretching, lying even, to try to not look like more of a fool. Its not working.”
ERA-predictors (FIP, xFIP, SIERA, etc.) running on peripheral data offer higher season-to-season correlation with ERA than ERA itself. This was the major breakthrough of DIPS 20 years ago. I don’t personally like FIP, because failure to bake in the semi-randomness of home runs (like xFIP does) makes it too volatile for me. SIERA is much better because it rewards GBs/penalizes FBs. Re: Morejon, FIP likes him more because of his miniscule HR/FB rate. His peripherals show him in the top percentile for EV, Barrel%, and HH%. These are all perfectly quantifiable. You can’t capture everything, sure, but we’re capturing more of the picture all the time.
Instead you prefer something that is a made up stat, what was supposed to happen, instead of what actually happened.
That is WHY xFIP is garbage. Expected stats are not reality. They are worse than errors in terms of subjectivity.
FIP likes Morejon the same as his ERA. xFIP is the one that is a full point off.
Pads Fans
“Instead you prefer something that is a made up stat, what was supposed to happen, instead of what actually happened”
That’s ERA, of course
The fielder was supposed to make the play so let’s not count the run
This [commenter] has no idea what they are talking about.
xFIP is more predictive than FIP for season-to-season ERA. Fine if you don’t like it, but it literally outperforms FIP in that regard lol. I prefer SIERA btw.
I like Vasquez as the #5.
Sears will be “coached up” by the Padres
and be better after they fix a few things.
Show me the research that proves that definitively.
Treating him like Cortez with a completely fresh BP. Let him go thru 2 times and turn to BP.
He has given the occasional longer start but is reliable for 2 turns and then either gets cocky or figured out or something mental must happen.
Shildt has shown an unwillingness to let a SP cost him a game with this BP.
Def want King back but if only a short stint and not arm related using RV for 2 starts won’t end the season prematurely.
Good points. I suppose nothing is stopping them from recalling Sears for the next start if Vasquez bombs.
The schedule does.
And I doubt King would have gone more than 4 innings anyway
He’s not starting out games dominating the other team and then gets bored and tries something new. He puts guys on, gets soft contact, survives, and then if the other team gets a third look at him, bang. Nothing to do with getting cocky or mental weakness.
Billy – my words were merely suggestive as possibly reasons for known outcomes.
You of course are free to disagree or offer other suggestions.
For what it’s worth Don and Mudd talk about it almost every start about his mental game.
It’s always funny how someone like you comes back with definitive statements that something is or isn’t or can’t be or must be when you are in no position to have any idea.
It’s like the idea of not saying “I’ll never… or “I always …”
You gave two reasons for his later-inning struggles based on his mental fortitude with zero evidence..
EVERY pitcher gets easier to hit the more the hitters see them. For a guy already walking the tightrope without premium stuff, it’s even more likely. But sure, it’s because he thinks “I am a golden god of pitching” or his concentration lags due to mental weakness.
Yet a former MLB pitcher (Mark Grant) speaks of this very thing as a potential source of the problem each and every start.
Hmmm – a former mlb pitcher or you?
I remain in the “it’s a possibility” mindset and not saying it is or isn’t definitively the problem.
You go with “I know” if it makes you feel good.
He’s a color commentator. By breed, they try to make stories about character. It’s why they say things like “He really bore down there” or “he choked” instead of “baseball is hard and it didn’t go his way.”
Randy Vasquez has mediocre stuff and crappy command. That’s why he falls apart the third time through the order.
You go with “psychoanalyzing players by watching them on tv.” if it makes you feel clever. A hint: You are not.
A pretty good ball player once said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical”.
You are right though, no mental fortitude required to be a mlb pitcher.
He can have the mental strength of a titan, it’s not going to overcome his pedestrian stuff and poor control.
He puts guys on, doesn’t strike anybody out, and gives up hard contact. That’s continuous, first inning to last inning. He doesn’t start great and then collapse — he’s in a constant state of collapse from the minute he steps on the mound.
He gets hit later because good luck has a short half-life, not because his mind does haywire.
Ltc
“You are right though, no mental fortitude required to be a mlb pitcher”
I don’t know about mental fortitude, but it only takes the slightest but if mental acuity to know that BB didn’t say that it didn’t require mental fortitude to play in the majors.
They said
1) that fans watching on a screen or from hundreds of thousands of feet away when in person, can’t measure a player’s mental fortitude.
2) that the things we can actually measure do a good job of explaining Vazquez’ struggles the later in ballgames.
BB
“not because his mind does haywire.”
To be fair, which is the best way to be, you can’t conclude this either and for the same reason. You can’t measure Vasquez’ mental fortitude. Maybe he does fall apart mentally. We can’t know.
We can know that his worse than MLB average skill of course contributes to his results. But we can’t eliminate the mental aspect anymore than someone else can assert it.
“To be fair, which is the best way to be…” LOL Tedious Blowhard Alert!! Juan Uribe who were you before you changed your moniker on here for the eleventh time??? SAMUEL is that you?? We were wondering where you went old buddy!! But the condescending tone in every single one of your tedious blowhard replies in virtually every single post made on MLBTR over the last week has Samuel vibes wafting fragrant & strong.
PadsFan
“But they don’t. As an active member of SABR I can tell you there is no definitive research that shows they do.”
They are all more predictive than ERA
How can they be more predictive if they are not better at measuring the past?
Padres and AJ Preller should have kept either Bergert or Kolek and substituted another pitching prospect (Cruz or Mayfield) in the Fermin deal.
Can’t believe they have up 2 of their best “depth starters” in that deal.
Have you seen anywhere that KC would have accepted a pitching prospect in lieu of Bergert or Kolek?
Yeah, they gave up a solid young catcher with 4 years of control. Preller couldn’t dictate terms.
Fermin has hit .355 with an .867 OPS and 152 wRC+ since joining the Padres.
Is it your intent for none of your replies to this post to make any good point?
My excellent points have, obviously, gone right over your head.
Bidding against yourself and you tend to overpay.
Teams could have used either Bergerts or Kolek with the injury situation with other starters on staff.
Now, they have to rely on Vasquez and/or Sears?
@SportsFan They win with Vasquez. 14 wins on the year.
You’re just a troll at this point.
I have always like Vasquez.
This is a baseball forum where most baseball fans RESPECTFULLY discuss differing opinions on baseball issues and do not always agree.
Put your big boy pants on and deal with it.
Randy Vasquez has done a good job for them in the rotation.
Start Cease tonight.
Then, slot Vasquez in their for his spot in the rotation.
They’re not playing tonight. That would reasonably factor into the plan.
Was talking about Friday night!
Do you always take things completely out of context?!
As awesome as the bullpen is, a healthy king is an absolute must for the playoffs
Hopefully King is healthy well before the playoffs
Wouldn’t any team want as many above average pitchers as possible like King in the playoffs?
I think it’s more that Yu is a bit hard to predict with the health (he was awesome against LA), Cease has struggled, and Pivetta has only pitched one postseason start the last 5 years. Despite giving up the GS to LA in G3, King was either their first or second-most dominant starter last October.
You would think so.
That is my reasoning behind the Padres keeping one of Bergerts or Kolek in the Fermin deal.
Padres still have promising young starting prospects in the minores one of whom could have been substituted for Bergerts or Kolek.
Status update please on JOE KING.
He passed away from Guffaws Disease. In other words, he died laughing.
he wasnt ready. Gimme Randy
Was looking at that terrible Padres trade for Soto, again.
If Padres had not made that ridiculous one sided trade for Soto who did not hit well for awhile in SD then started hitting in his 2nd year w/team.
Someone should have taken Preller’s cell phone and thrown it in the SD Bay when he began thinking/talking about this disastrous deal.
Without that completely crazy Soto deal, the Padres team would have included right now:
LHSP McKenzie Gore
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
CF Robert Hassell II who just had a breakout year @AAA and also
played some on the Nats team (including spectacular defense)
RP Jarlin Susanna (age 21 in Minors has hit 1-3 mph on radar gun)
Preller pushed all in to try and win a WS while Peter Siedler was still alive.
Had Tatis not gotten himself suspended maybe it would have worked.
Still a poorly conceived deal.
Padres were more than just one player away from a World Series title at that time.
And, the deal weakened the Padres for both short and long term contention.
More than one player away – they also got Josh Bell who at the time of the trade was one of the best hitters in most categories that year. He cost some of that talent. It wasn’t JUST Soto Sad acquired but, no reason to look at the entire picture.
They attempted a World Series run which can’t be said for many teams. So did the Yankees by trading for Soto. And that’s how the story goes.
It wasn’t a trade for Soto. It was a trade for Soto and Bell.
As of today the Padres are up by 44 WAR in that trade plus trading Soto away. The Padres have an NLCS and NLDS appearances since then and appear headed to the playoffs this season as well.
Preller would make that trade again and rightfully so.
4.4 WAR, not 44
Ahead 4.4 now but could be closer to 44 behind when all said and done if Wood continues on his path.
Still worth it though. Pads will probably QO both Cease and King, and Soto was one of the best hitters in baseball. Plus you have to respect a team that actually goes for it.
Preller always seems to build up the farm faster than other POBO and fans in SD have to be loving the on field product.
Both Bell and Soto did not hit well when they joined the Padres in the 2nd half
Bell hit only .192 with 3 home runs with 14 RBIs
with 587OPS for the Padres numbers that will get you a pink slip DFA on most teams.
Bell was a Nats “salary dump” and not of much value to the Padres.
After the 2022 Trade Deadline, Soto did not hit for the Padres in the 2nd half
.236 BA 6 home runs 16 RBIs 778 OPS 1.7 WAR.
Soto picked up the pace in 2023 as he got closer to free agency….
AJ Preller then auctioned him off to the highest bidder (NYY). Preller was able to salvage some value for Soto
but not nearly as much has he had given up to the Nats.
It doesn’t matter WHAT Bell did after the trade. At the time of the trade he was the 5th best hitter in baseball.
WITH Bell hitting poorly the Padres are still ahead in WAR in the trade chain, have two players that will be with them 4-5 more seasons, and have NLCS and NLDS appearances that brought in tens of millions of dollars to the team. 3 years later the Nationals are still in last place and will be again in 2026 unless they sign or trade for 3 TOR starters and 3 top relief pitchers. Wood won’t get them out of last place. Gore might not even make the Padres starting rotation at all. Abrams doesn’t start over Bogaerts. Hassell is not hitting nearly as well as Campusano and you said the Padres should dump him.
Preller got 7.0 WAR out of Soto in 2 months of the 2022 season and the 2023 season. You are conveniently trying to leave that out of the equation. You can count on your fingers the number of players that had that high of production over that time period. Then he got 10 WAR from the guys that he brought in from the Soto trade in 2024 and a playoff appearance and then whatever he ends up with this season and the next 4-5 seasons. Don’t forget to add in any production he gets from whatever draft picks he gets from the QO he gives Cease and King.
Yes it matters what Bell and Soto did after the Trade deadline trade!! The whole reason the Preller and the Padres traded for Soto and the Bell throw in player was to Win a World Series.
Neither of those two players Soto & Bell hit enough in that 2nd half to move the needle towards a World Series Title for the Padres.
Conclusion: Trade did not accomplish its objective and gave up 24 years of team friendly contract years with all the top young players who they gave the the Nats in that deal.
Therefore, It was a failed trade.
The MLB experts that I have read say that was a very bad trade and that the Padres got hosed on that deal.
SF0000
“The MLB experts that I have read”
Oh.
Bell was a throw in and didn’t hit right away either.
Bell is a nice guy, but he has been on 3-4 teams since then and has not been impactful for any of those teams.
It was a Nats salary dump on the Padres to take Bell.
Stop it with WAR nonsense.
I am falling on the floor laughing at that!
Only reason Preller traded for Soto was to win a World Series FAST!
Padres did not win a World Series with Soto.
Padres played better after they traded Soto to the NYY.
Soto is not 1 player who will carry a baseball team to a championship
Soto is a role player.
His defense is below average.
His throwing arm is below average.
Soto is probably the most over rated, overpaid player in MLB.
Soto would have been better off signing with the NYY
where they had players like Judge to complement his skills and hide his deficiencies.
Baseball is a team game.
Rarely, if ever, will 1 player make your team a champion.
Soto from Nats to the Padres was AJ Preller’s and the Padres WORST TRADE EVER!.
SF0000
“Stop it with WAR nonsense.
I am falling on the floor laughing at that!”
Why?
“Only reason Preller traded for Soto was to win a World Series FAST!”
Preller made the trade to exchange future value for present value, that’s how the vast majority of trades work.
“Padres played better after they traded Soto to the NYY.”
Not sure that’s true. They had a better record, yes.
“Soto is not 1 player who will carry a baseball team to a championship
Baseball is a team game.
Rarely, if ever, will 1 player make your team a champion.”
Sort of correct. No one player wins a World Series by themselves.
Bell was FAR from a throw in. He was the 5th best hitter in baseball that season. You are really stretching, lying even, to try to not look like more of a fool. Its not working.
No. Preller would not make that trade again
if, somehow, it was one of those “ground hog day” situations
and he was offered a “do over”…
if he was being honest with himself.
Preller is fortunate the Padres Ownership has put full trust in him.
Some teams would fire a POB/GM for such a move.
Preller said he would make that trade again. He has said it multiple times. Now you are lying.
Read my statement carefully.
It is my opinion,
Do you know the difference between a lie and an opinion?!
Your statement seems to indicate that you do not.
I said if he was being honest with himself, then he would not make that deal again.(This is obviously an opinion).
Preller is a data and results guy, if he knew then what he knows now, then no he, most likely, would not make that deal.
Preller is not the kind of guy that likes to admit that he was wrong.
But, if he was in a “ground hog day situation”, then he probably makes a better decision which is not to trade for Soto.
We all make mistakes.
We are all human.
We all would love a mulligan on some decisions.
It is normal.
It has nothing to do with lying.
Just stop already.
The Nationals are 20 games behind the Padres. Scoreboard.
Preller doesn’t need any of those players. He’ll just find more. He always does. That’s why he still has his job, and Mike Rizzo doesn’t.
Yes, the Padres would have been a much better team with: McKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, James Wood etc on their team.
Robert Hassell III CF had a great year @ AAA and also played great for the Nats in limited time including stellar defensive plays.
Preller built out the entire Padres ballclub which is why they are in 1st place.
Pads would be even better if they still had Abrams, McKenzie Gore, Woods, Hassell III.
Nats GM Mike Rizzo and Manager Dave Martinez were fired for bad drafts and signing and not filing out the rest of the roster.
They would have been fired much sooner with out the Soto trade and infusion of talent from the Padres.
Padres players traded to the Nats are the core of the next Nats contending team.
The Padres players are
You are in the forest and don’t see the trees.
I support the moves Preller made @ this years trade deadline.
Hated to see SS Devries go.
But, I can see the logic on that deal to “go all in” and try to win a Championship with a very strong bullpen which is a formula that has worked for many teams.
I call them as a I see them.
Preller has made some very good moves that I have complemented and supported like this years trade deadline moves.
And, Preller has also made some very bad moves like Soto from the Nats to the Pads for most of the Padres top rated farm system
(at least 6-7 young players 36-42 years of team cost controlled) for the roll of the dice on a 1 1/2 year rental player Soto and a 1/2 year rental Bell.
There was a close to zero chance that Soto would ever resign with the Padres because of budgetary concerns (small to medium market) and agency: Boras takes the vast majority of his players to the free agent auction which prices them out of San Diego’s budget.
Preller does get some points for pivoting and trading
Soto to the Yankees. But, overall, the Padres would have been better off long term if they held onto: LHSP McKenzie Gore, SS CJ Abrams, LF James Wood, CF/OF Robert Hassell III.
It would have also meant that they did not sign Xander Bogaerts and saved that money for more pitching.
And, Preller would still have signed, traded worked to fill the rotation out even if he had kept to players he did not give up in the Soto from the Nats to the Padres deal that was not made,
@SportsFans
Tl;dr. Scoreboard.
Enough. Say goodbye.
?????
Jarlin Susanna has reached 103 mph on the radar gun in the minors.
No surprise, SportsFans! Jarlin was chucking hundus as a 17 year old bean pole. I’ll give you Wood *would* look great in LF right now, but where would Abrams and Bobby 3-Sticks play? Am I wrong? Have I run too far to get home? If I would, could you?
Wonder how long Anniston is going to be asked about Pitt? We probably have another 20 years of this.
Abrams would be playing SS.
Bogaerts would not have been signed to that big contract.
Hassell III would be their 4th OF and play all 3 OF spots plus 1B etc…
CF and Shortstops are the best athletes on the teams they play on and can play just about any position.
where has all of that talent got The Nationals ill take this squad
That was the Nats Front Office’s fault.
They were weak on their other draft picks and International signings.
They still have a lot of very promising young players and will be contending soon…
They played the Padres very tough this year.
During his start against the Sox Lou Merloni commented on King seemingly rushing himself back after only one rehab start. Could be he suffered the knee injury compensating for the shoulder
Looking forward to some dodgers v padres this weekend. Dodgers monopolised the top of the market, Padres shopped at the bottom. Yet here we are. It’s a remarkable thing.
Sport is good.
You could take 30 seconds to Google the Padres core is also 1 billion + in contracts
Don’t have to google. I’m aware. It was a comparison about this last offseasons spending pattern. Too complex for you or just overly sensitive ?
Would you like me to do an overall roster comparison ? Would that make you feel better ?
The Padres spent crazy before 2022 and 2023. The Dodgers spent crazy before 2024 and 2025. Padres are in the same tier as big market teams spending lol
lol indeed. Question answered. Overly sensitive .
$355 v $241. Yeah mate. They are in the same tier. Are you serious ? Are you trying to gaslight me ?
it’s a remarkable thing fops and hope SF can do some damage when they square off 7 times against LD in September.
It’ll be an interesting series for sure.
Padres are spending at way above their normal spending levels
and have been in the luxury tax penalty box in 2023 for 40M.
The Friars are on the hook for $39.7 million luxury tax after their team-record-setting $255 million 2023 payroll. The news comes in the wake of the Padres losing their local-market TV deal and reportedly seeking a $50 million loan toward the end of the season.
I hope that the Padres do win the division, but division titles don’t mean that much anymore. You have to do well in the playoffs.
I could mean a 1st round buy in the playoffs and home field advantage if they have the 1st or 2nd best record in NL.
Another former Padre turned to prospect got promoted by the Cubs today lolz. Padres are how not to turn a team for long term success
Kewl – whaaaaat?
Yu Darvish for a prospect who hasn’t even got a hit yet? Sure, he may have a great career but you can’t get quality for crap in a trade.
And Maybe Owen Cassie becomes the first prospect of many Preller gave up in that few week span to acquire 3 stud pitchers (Snell, Darvish & Musgrove) to amount to anything.
I hope Cassie has a long and productive career, but for a guy who has struck out at AAA at a 198 per 162 game pace, it’s not a given he’ll be a stud.
Yeah go back and look at most trades that are made for “untouchable” prospects, how many of those do teams actually regret later on?? I mean the Dodgers traded Josh Fields to the Astros for Yordan Alvarez and the Dodgers still turned out just fine. You got to push in your chips to WIN NOW, because most “prospects” don’t turn into much. That’s why GM’s like Preller and Dombrowski will go down in the history books as stellar PBO’s.
Pirates did get Bednar in the Musgrove deal, not a bad return.
The Guardians, Marlins, Mariners, Pirates etc…
have received some great, young players in those trades.
MLB POBs and GMs are always interested in trading for the Padres great, young farm hands many have either starred for or become quite productive players for their new teams.
On the context of his having traded over 100 prospects I’d say there are only a couple that have reached “starred” status and even some of those are short lived / injury shortened or delayed because of injuries (Munoz).
In context less than 5% starred. Maybe another 5% will become stars or “quite productive”.
Even so, it isn’t like SD didn’t get “stars” or “quite productive” players back – not 100% but a much higher percentage than what was traded away.
The better argument for you is that in time, another 5-10% are likely to become “quite productive”. Even then, it’s the process of trading away prospects for right now so, just have to acknowledge that is the way winning teams tend to work to improve chances of success in current year.
Preller is a huge liar regarding medical records and info, so who knows if it’s his knee or he needs a new elbow.
You said alot of words to confirm you know nothing. Swing and a miss Taylor, grab some pine.
Not a dodgers fan but I’m not sure they’re overrated
Brutal timing with the two dodgers series on deck.
TBF he wouldn’t have been on tap for next weekend.
Actually it’s perfect timing considering the dodgers aren’t playing great at the moment. That’s subject to change, but who knows when the switch flips for them.
Plenty of season left to get everyone healthy as they can be though.
Not all that bad since he was rehabbing with the padres. He pitched 2 innings last outing and likely wouldn’t have gone more than 4 this time.
Vasquez has been good for 4 innings most outings.
The padres will unleash the pen early. They just need to get through 3 innings in good shape.
I’m no dodger fan by any means. But you calling them
Overrated when they’re the world champs while praising a team who never won a title is hilarious.
It’s typical Padre fan nonsense
Rookie named Mendez should be called
Mendez isn’t ready, but he looks very promising.
Mendez has gotten pounded in his two starts in AA so far including giving up 8 runs in 3.2 IP on Wednesday. He is far from ready.
Cookie Carrasco, come on down! You’re the next contestant on the Pryce is Wright!
JP Sears should stick to comedy