Chicago Cubs trade target has an interesting wrinkle in contract

The Chicago Cubs should add another starting pitcher to further complete their rotation. 

The Cubs already have a solid 1-2 punch in Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele, who are top five Cy Young finalists year in and year out. 

Adding another top ten Cy Young finalist in Michael King to the rotation to be the Cubs number two would give them one of the best 1–3 in Major League Baseball.

The dominance of Michael King 

The now 29-year-old King was one of the key components that sent Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres to the New York Yankees last offseason. In his first season with the Padres, King was outstanding, having a record of 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA, 201 strikeouts, a 139 ERA+ in 173.2 innings, and finished in the top ten for the Cy Young award.

According to his Baseball Savant, King was even better, ranking in the 99th percentile for his offspeed run value and average exit velocity at 85.7 mph. He also ranked in the 97th percentile for hard-hit percentage at 30.3%. Coming at hitters with a five-pitch mix, King is primarily a sinker (27.9%), changeup (24.6%), and fastball (24.1%) pitcher with adding a sweeper (17.8%) to give the hitters another look and occasionally adding in a slider (5.6%).

The Rochester, New York native was tremendous post-All-Star break, having a 6-3 record and an impressive 2.15 ERA in 11 starts (62.2 innings). King also tallied 72 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a .212 average against. 

An interesting wrinkle in King’s deal revealed

The Padres and King recently settled on a deal to avoid going to arbitration, with King owed $4 million for this season and has a $15 million mutual option for next season. The $4 million, is far less than what King had hoped to get, which was $7.5 million, but incentives have been put in to bring the deal to a potential $8 million. 

This provides a new interesting angle for the Cubs to trade for King, given teams don’t usually pick up their end of a mutual option. Depending on what type of season King has, he would need to pick up his half of the option, but $15 million for a high-quality starting pitcher would be extremely team-friendly and up the Cub’s alley of being cost-effective. Even if King doesn’t pick up his half of the option, he is represented by Excel Sports Management, so a deal for an extension, could be done.

King would bring tremendous value to the Chicago Cubs 

King is the perfect number two to slot in between Imanaga and Steele and would give the Cubs another righty in the rotation.

Adding King would give the Cubs three top ten Cy Young finalists at the top of their rotation, making them a threat in the National League.

Getting a deal like this done should be a top priority for Jed Hoyer and the Cubs is just a matter of how much it will cost to get it done.