Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Michael King Injury Update: What Happened to Padres Star?

Michael King hits the IL with shoulder inflammation!

Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres were already running thin on starting pitching. Now they’ll be without their best arm.

Michael King, who had been scheduled to start against the Braves on Saturday, was scratched just an hour before first pitch with what the team initially called shoulder stiffness. On Sunday, the Padres placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The move is retroactive to May 22, making King eligible to return as early as June 6.

Michael King is going on the injured list pic.twitter.com/dtP201tQtX
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 25, 2025

Manager Mike Shildt said King “felt like he slept on [the shoulder] wrong.” Whatever the case, the Padres aren’t taking chances with a pitcher who has been critical to their rotation and will be one of the most sought-after names in free agency this winter.

Michael King Injury Comes at a Bad Time for Padres

King, who turned 30 on Sunday, hadn’t landed on the IL since 2022, when he fractured his right elbow during his time with the Yankees. That injury halted what had been a breakout year as a reliever. Since coming to San Diego in the trade that sent Juan Soto to New York, King has settled in as a full-time starter – and one of the most effective in the National League.

ALSO READ: Michael King Opens Up on Whether He’d Return to the Yankees

Through 10 starts this season, King has posted a 2.59 ERA. Last year, in his first full campaign in the rotation, he finished with a 2.95 ERA across 173 2/3 innings. His absence now comes at a time when the Padres can least afford it.

Michael King, 93mph Two Seamer and 83mph Sweeper, Overlay.

If you stare at this too long….

Your Eyes will stay Crossed. pic.twitter.com/jEKl4FYrvZ
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2025

San Diego is in the middle of a demanding 35-game stretch over 37 days, and their rotation depth is already being tested. Yu Darvish, who opened the season on the injured list with elbow inflammation, hasn’t progressed as expected since his rehab outing on May 14. His return timeline remains uncertain.

In the short term, the Padres will need a replacement to start Friday’s game against the Pirates. Potential options include left-hander Kyle Hart, who posted a 6.00 ERA before being optioned to Triple-A last month, and knuckleballer Matt Waldron, who began a rehab assignment on May 15 after missing time with a left oblique strain.

ALSO READ: Shohei Ohtani’s Pitching Return Makes Everything Bigger

What doesn’t help the Padres is how competitive the NL West is proving to be. They started the season quite strong, but both the Dodgers and Giants have gone past them, ahead by two games and one game, respectively. Michael King’s absence will definitely hurt the Padres, who have lost seven of their previous ten.

Michael King

Padres

Mohsin Baldiwala

mlb

Mohsin Baldiwala is a Master’s student in Journalism and freelance content producer who got hooked on baseball through Seinfeld’s hapless George Costanza. The same reason why he’s a Yankees fan. He writes about sports because he believes it can offer a brief escape from the world’s chaos. Even if that means enduring the heartbreak of the 2024 World Series.