Ahead of the San Diego Padres’ weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the winner taking the lead in the NL West, the Padres announced some unfortunate news regarding starting pitcher Michael King.
The Padres announced that King is being placed on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation, retroactive to August 11th, and in turn, recalled starting pitcher Randy Vasquez.
We have placed RHP Michael King on the 15-day IL (retro to 8/11) with left knee inflammation and recalled RHP Randy Vásquez from Triple-A El Paso.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 14, 2025
It’s a tough blow for King, who just came off the injured list a couple of days ago. The 30-year-old hits the injured list for the second time this season, and it’s for a different issue than the shoulder problem that knocked him out for over two months.
In his lone start back off the injured list, King went just two innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out one. It wasn’t a great first start for King back from the injured list, but there was promise that he could turn things around.
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But now, back on the injured list, King is set to miss more time, and the very pivotal Dodgers series over the weekend. He was slated to start against the Dodgers in the series opener, and now, the Padres are without their top arm for game one.
Vasquez last pitched 68 pitches in the minor leagues on Sunday, August 10th, so he could be a starter for Friday’s game, though the Padres haven’t announced any starter for the Dodgers series opener.
This season, King has a 2.81 ERA, 65 strikeouts, and a 4-2 record across 11 starts. When healthy, he’s been one of the best pitchers on the Padres. But for the second time this season, King, who’s set to be a free agent after 2025, is hitting the injured list.
It’s an unfortunate break for the Padres and King, especially right before the Dodgers series. Just as the Padres took the NL West lead, the first time they’ve had a lead this late in the season since 2010, they were dealt a tough blow, losing King for the second time this season.
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