The San Diego Padres have decided who will get the ball on Opening Day.
Manager Mike Shildt announced Monday that Michael King is set to start the season opener over Dylan Cease, per Padres insider Dennis Lin. Both starters have been the subject of trade rumors all offseason, but it does appear that San Diego will keep both of them. King just signed a $7.75 million deal in January to avoid arbitration.
The right-hander had an impressive 2024 in his first full season as a starter. He posted a 2.95 ERA and 13-9 record, striking out 201 in 173.2 innings of work. He made 31 appearances and 30 starts. King was mostly a reliever with the New York Yankees before coming over to the Padres in the Juan Soto trade.
Getting the Opening Day nod is a testament to King’s success last season as one of the best pitchers in baseball. However, as he discussed during spring training, the Padres righty made it clear that one year doesn’t mean anything — he needs to replicate it in 2025.
Via The San Diego Tribune:
“There was a college professor of mine that said it when he was talking about tech companies,” King said. “It was, ‘Once, you’re lucky. Twice, you’re good.’ I don’t want to say anybody can do it for one year, but you’ve seen a lot of one-and-done guys that had one successful year and then their bodies broke down, or they, I don’t want to say, like, got too big on themselves and don’t repeat it. So I think I definitely have to prove that I can do it (for) multiple years.
“I also think 200 innings is the sign of a good starter, and I didn’t do that last year. So I’ve got a lot to prove.”
The Padres begin the ’25 campaign on March 27 against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park.
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