Red Sox urged to sign $7.75 million Padres ace to boost starting rotation

The Boston Red Sox made a shocking trade last week, sending slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks.

San Francisco is eating the rest of Devers' contract, which frees up some salary space for the Red Sox to add a high-priced player or two, either at the trade deadline or in the offseason.

They'll have better options in the offseason during free agency. The starting rotation could potentially use a little work.

Connor Ryan of Boston.com listed eight players Boston could target, and among them was San Diego Padres ace Michael King.

"King was money in 2024 with San Diego, going 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA and 201 strikeouts over 173.2 innings of work. He was also strong out of the gate this season (4-2, 2.59 ERA) before landing on the IL with a pinched nerve in May," Ryan wrote.

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King's injury certainly complicates things a bit. But when he's healthy, he can be one of the game's top starting pitchers. He also has the ability to pitch in relief if need be.

King is familiar with the American League East thanks to his time with the New York Yankees, so pitching at Fenway Park wouldn't be foreign to him.

The 30-year-old right-hander was averaging 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings before landing on the IL. He could bring some swing-and-miss to Boston's rotation and be a perfect complement for left-hander Garrett Crochet.

It will certainly be interesting to see what Boston decides to do and how they'll allocate their resources in the offseason.

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