San Diego Padres Tender Qualifying Offers to Michael King, Dylan Cease

The San Diego Padres continue to paint a picture of what the next four months may look like early on in the 2025-2026 off-season. They've lost five players to option decisions and one to injury (Yu Darvish) while getting assurance that Wandy Peralta and Ramon Laureano will return in 2026.

Michael King, who declined his option, may not totally be out of the picture yet. Jeff Passan of ESPN is reporting that the Padres have tendered qualifying offers to King and Dylan Cease. The value of the qualifying offer in 2026 is $22.025 million.

King, whose option was worth $15 million in 2026, had a bit of a lost season in 2025 due to injury. However, teams have his 2024 season fresh in their mind, where he threw 173 1/3 innings in his first full year as a starter. In that season, he posted an impressive 3.33 FIP and a 19.0% K-BB rate. That's why MLBTR predicts he'll earn a four-year, $80 million contract in free agency this year. It will be up to King if he wants the extra couple of million over long-term security he'll receive by becoming a free agent.

Cease, who is a free agent, has been a modern-day iron man, making 32 starts in five consecutive seasons. His productivity has alternated each season he's been with the club, receiving Cy Young votes in 2022 and 2024 while sporting ERAs north of 4.00 in 2023 and 2025. About to enter his age-30 season, MLBTR predicts Cease will get a seven-year, $189 million contract via free agency. Given the security and an extra $5 million in 2026, it's hard to imagine Cease will accept the qualifying offer.

As a reminder, a team receives compensatory draft picks if its free agent rejects the qualifying offer and signs with a new club. Conversely, the team making the signing must forfeit draft picks, with the exact picks exchanged depending on the financial status of both organizations (e.g., whether they pay the Competitive Balance Tax or receive revenue sharing).

Do you think either player will accept the qualifying offer? Let us know what you think in the comments!