Padres star's lengthy injury in 2025 further validates Yankees' Juan Soto trade

Last year, Michael King authored a stellar season for the San Diego Padres that left all Yankees fans dreaming about how King could have done in New York had the team not traded him to the Padres in exchange for Juan Soto. 

Though fans knew they had to give to get in order to acquire Soto, King's presence could've been massive for a starting rotation that broke down late in the year.

And while King’s breakout season hurt a little more in the offseason after Soto ditched the Yankees to head to the Mets, his start-and-stop season 2025 season has validated the Yankees decision to include hm in their trade for Soto. 

Yeah, you make this trade 10 out of 10 times simply because you never know what's going to happen.

Michael King's lengthy 2025 injury further validates Yankees' Juan Soto trade with Padres

King threw 25 pitches early this week and noted it “was the most normal he’d felt since he got shut down.”  

That aforementioned shutdown came in the middle of May after he had to deal with a pinched nerve in his right shoulder. It’s an injury that’s expected to keep him out until the All-Star Break at least. 

King was doing great before he got hurt (2.59 ERA in 55 2/3 innings), but his injury has been a killer for the Padres, as San Diego’s starters have posted a 3.93 ERA since the start of May. 

The Padres have benefited from a strong start from Nick Pivetta (8-2, 3.36 ERA) and old friend Randy Vásquez (3-4, 3.60 ERA), but they’ve also gotten subpar seasons from Kyle Hart and Dylan Cease. 

There’s still a chance that King could end up with the Yankees, too. New York already got floated as a trade destination for King last offseason after it was reported the Padres were looking to shed payroll, and it would be hard to believe that they’d get outbid for King after this season if they choose to make him a priority. 

King was arguably the part of the Soto trade package that gave Yankees fans the most pause due to the success he had during the back-half of his tenure with the club, but Soto’s grand season in the Bronx made it a bit easier to swallow. 

While King and Vásquez have had solid tenures with the Padres, they’re the only parts of the trade that have really worked out for San Diego. The Padres traded top prospect Drew Thorpe to the White Sox as a part of their package for Cease, while Kyle Higashioka is in Texas and Jhony Brito is on the 60-day injured list. 

It’ll be interesting to see how this injury will impact King's market in free agency. He had a career 3.13 ERA in 477 innings, but has only topped 105 innings once in his career (last season).

It could all end up being a moot point if he comes back in the second half and puts up strong numbers in San Diego’s push toward the postseason, but it also seems like there’s a chance it could end up being the defining storyline of his season.