It sure didn’t seem as though the intrigue around the Boston Red Sox was destined to be tied to a starting pitching target earlier this week.
After losing out on big-name targets Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso in free agency, many likely assumed the Red Sox’s next move would be to sign or trade for a big bat. However, on Sunday, reports have surfaced up and down that Boston is in on San Diego Padres free-agent starter Michael King, a Rhode Island native who once pitched at Boston College.
After Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reported that the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees were among the other top contenders for King, intrigue built that King might make his decision soon. Another question a lot of folks had, though, was why Boston would get involved, considering it had already trade for two starters this offseason.
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Where things stand with Michael King
Chris Cotillo of MassLive provided an interesting update on the matter on Sunday evening.
According to Cotillo, King is particularly interested in playing in Boston, near his hometown, but that there is no time frame set for a decision.
“The Red Sox are among a number of teams still involved in talks with righty Michael King, a source confirmed Sunday, though there is no set timeframe for King’s decision,” Cotillo wrote. “King, who attended Bishop Hendricken High School in Rhode Island and pitched at Boston College, has a crowded market and is sifting through possibilities. According to one source, King would ‘love to be in Boston’ but as always, it’s a matter of term and dollars lining up.”
The other side of the coin, however, was that Cotillo seemed inclined to believe that Boston would not necessarily be willing to match every possible bid for King.
“The Red Sox have already added Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo to their rotation this winter and therefore don’t seem to be forcing the issue when it comes to further rotation adds,” Cotillo wrote. “An addition of someone like King would be more likely if he were to take some sort of hometown discount to pitch in Boston, though there will be strong, multi-year bids for his services from across the league considering the level of interest.”
According to The Athletic’s Tim Britton, King’s projected market value is three years, $75 million. What’s being offered behind the scenes is anyone’s guess. Another potential impediment from the Red Sox perspective is that King declined the qualifying offer, so Boston would forfeit its first-round pick if it signed him.
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