Cubs get a second chance to fix Michael King mistake after Padres opt out

Thursday marks the opening of the five-day window for teams to negotiate with their own free agents before the floodgates fully open early next week. There's also going to be a healthy amount of contract option decisions to be made official, and it started with the Chicago Cubs as Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd expectedly opted out of their deals and have become free agents.

The Cubs' rotation is going to look different in 2027, and once free agents are eligible to sign with new teams next week, there will be little time to waste. Tarik Skubal is certainly going to be the best starting pitcher available, but Thursday brought confirmation that Michael King will also be a free agent.

King opted out of the final two years of his deal with the Padres, and is going to be one of the best starting pitchers not named Tarik Skubal available in this year's free-agent class.

As the Cubs found out in Game 1 of their Wild Card series against the Padres, when King is healthy, there are few better. King flirted with a no-hitter when he faced the Cubs in the playoffs, striking out eight across seven innings of work.

Michael King's opt out opens a familiar door the Cubs should revisit

Durability has been a question of King in the past, but that wasn't the case in 2026. He made 32 starts, totaling 185 innings pitched. King posted an ERA of 3.21 while striking out 21% of the hitters he faced. For the Cubs, it's worth looking into why his strikeout rate went down, considering his career mark sits at 25.4%. Though, the rate jumped up to 28.3% during the playoffs.

Given the success and health for King in 2026, The Athletic's Jim Bowden projects his next contract at four years for $118 million. Honestly, given the nature of how pitches normally move once one is off the board, it wouldn't be a complete surprise if the total value on King's next deal is even higher than that.

The Cubs were connected to King last offseason but as has become a familiar tune, there was a sense that his bidding may have surpassed their comfort zone. It's worth noting that King's deal with the Padres was $75 million for three year with opt outs this offseason and next.

Whether it was the money or the opt outs, this time around, the Cubs can't be selective. It's time to pay for expectation.

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