One key part of Padres’ deal for Michael King likely scared off the Cubs completely

In the last week, the impression was that the Chicago Cubs moved to the background of the sweepstakes for free-agent starting pitcher Michael King, who was generating strong interest from the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets. The indication was that King's bidding exceeded the Cubs' interest level, and that was confirmed by his three-year deal with the San Diego Padres.

Yes, King is returning to San Diego, which does come as some surprise, considering many insiders initially ruled out a reunion. King will get paid $75M over the next three years, but his contract also includes opt-outs after the first and second years of the deal.

Michael King's contract structure with the Padres is likely what turned the Cubs off.

Given this contract structure, the Padres offered a unique advantage that no other team had. King turned down the qualifying offer from San Diego last month and had he signed with any team other than the Padres, the acquiring team would have been forced to part with draft-pick compensation as well as international bonus pool money.

Given those penalties, any offer from the Cubs likely wouldn't have included an opt-out after the first year of the deal. The Cubs established that precedent last offseason with their offer to Alex Bregman that didn't include an opt-out after the first year. Bregman ultimately signed a creative three-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, and as it turns out, he opted out of the deal after the first year.

For King, it's essentially taking the qualifying offer but also having the assurance of 2027 in the event that something goes wrong this season. For that reason, while the money likely was close to what the Cubs thought it would be, the opt-outs likely made it a moot point.

As much as that makes sense, King being off the market doesn't exactly help the Cubs' efforts in looking for a starting pitcher this offseason. Based on past reporting, it would seem that the free-agent options the Cubs are considering are down to Tatsuya Imai and Zac Gallen.

Imai's posting window closes on January 2, and of any move on the table, it would likely be the biggest the Cubs can make this offseason outside of signing Bregman. It's important to note that Scott Boras represents both Imai and Gallen, so chances are he is waiting for the Japanese starting pitcher to sign before focusing his efforts on finding a home for the former Diamondbacks' ace.