Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Mets and Michael King met via video conference today as part of the winter meetings. King, 30, was a member of the Yankees from 2019 to 2023 and played for the Padres the past two years. King has also reportedly met with other teams besides the Mets.
King spent most of his career in the bullpen before transitioning to the starting lineup in late 2023. Since joining the Padres, King has made 45 starts in two seasons with a 3.10 ERA. He missed significant time in 2025 with shoulder and knee injuries and turned down a qualifying offer from the Padres earlier this offseason.
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King is expected to sign a three- to four-year deal, which would be consistent with the Mets’ reported desire not to sign starters to long-term deals.
As Sherman points out, in addition to the shorter contract, King also had a history with Mets manager Carlos Mendoza when he was the Yankees’ manager and passed the (sometimes exaggerated) “can-play-in-New York” test. The downside is that King received a qualifying offer, meaning the Mets would lose their 2026 second- and fifth-round draft picks if they signed King.
