Padres top starter Michael King lands on injured list with shoulder inflammation
A day after scratching Michael King from a scheduled start in what they described as a precautionary move, the San Diego Padres placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his throwing shoulder.
King, the Padres' Opening Day starter and arguably the best starter in the upcoming free-agent class, had not been on the injured list since he fractured his right elbow with the New York Yankees in 2022. His latest IL stint is retroactive to May 22, meaning he could return as soon as June 6.
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The Padres scratched King from Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves, citing shoulder stiffness. Manager Mike Shildt later said King 'felt like he slept on (the shoulder) wrong.'
'We could've pushed today for him to go out and take the ball,' Shildt told the media after an emergency bullpen game ended in a 7-1 loss at Truist Park. 'He got treatment and it did get better, and he threw a little bit of the plyo balls but still felt it. … We'll see as time unfolds. We've been down the road where we say, 'Yeah, this is going to be a day-to-day (situation),' and it (takes) longer. But we do believe it's not anything overly serious.'
King, who turned 30 on Sunday, joined the Padres two Decembers ago in the blockbuster trade that sent star outfielder Juan Soto to the Yankees. The former reliever went on to thrive in his first full season as a big-league starter, logging a 2.95 earned run average in 173 2/3 innings. This season, King has a 2.59 ERA through 10 starts.
Before his shoulder injury, the Padres already were facing a significant test of their limited rotation depth. The team last week embarked on a stretch of 35 games in 37 days, and one candidate for a possible six-man rotation does not appear close to making his 2025 debut: Yu Darvish, the 38-year-old right-hander who opened the season sidelined by elbow inflammation, has not recovered as well as hoped since a May 14 rehab start.
Darvish, whose injury history includes a Tommy John surgery in 2015, has continued to play catch, but 'he's still describing the feeling of some tightness in the forearm,' Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said Friday on 97.3 The Fan.
The Padres' options to replace King include left-hander Kyle Hart, who posted a 6.00 ERA before he was optioned to Triple A last month, and knuckleballer Matt Waldron. Waldron has been on the IL since spring training because of a left oblique strain. He began a rehab assignment on May 15. The Padres will need someone to start in King's stead Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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In Sunday's corresponding roster move, the Padres recalled reliever David Morgan from Triple-A El Paso. The right-hander was called up last month but has yet to make his big-league debut. Morgan had a 12.71 ERA in seven appearances with El Paso, but the former position player also continued to strike out batters at a prodigious rate.
Also Sunday, the Padres recalled left-hander Omar Cruz from El Paso and optioned reliever Alek Jacob to the same affiliate. Cruz made his big-league debut in early April and can start or relieve. Jacob struggled this month with a 14.85 ERA in nine May appearances.
(Photo of Michael King: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)
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