Who Will Fill Innings While Michael King Is On The Injured List?

[Ryan Hernandez]

After his first major league start back from injury, Michael King has once again been placed on the injured list with knee inflammation. At the moment, it’s only the 15-day IL, but we don’t know the severity of it yet, and it may be longer than that. Who can step up in the interim for the Padres while King is out?

The Padres currently have Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, and Nestor Cortes leading their rotation, and these four could see more innings while King is out. Randy Vásquez is the most immediate depth option. In 2025, he’s logged 111 1/3 innings across 23 games (22 starts) with a 3.96 ERA, and he just worked 4 2/3 innings of relief on August 15 at Dodger Stadium. 

Left-hander Kyle Hart is another internal choice. He opened the year on the 26-man roster and has handled bulk work; his last appearance for the Padres was on July 24th. He is currently pitching out of the bullpen in Triple-A El Paso.

The Padres are now back in second place in the NL West; they are still only two games back of the Dodgers, but they need their bullpen and starting rotation to step up and play at their best to regain the NL West lead. 

If King is out the rest of the season, the Padres' postseason rotation could consist of Darvish, Cease, Pievetta, and Cortes as their postseason starters. The Padres are still on pace for the playoffs, and as of this moment, they hold the second Wild Card spot in the National League, 2.5 games ahead of the Mets, who hold the third and final Wild Card spot.

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