The San Diego Padres and pitcher Michael King reached an agreement last Friday that allowed General Manager A.J. Preller to keep his non-arbitration streak intact.
Over Preller’s decade-long tenure he has avoided arbitration with every player. King, who was the cornerstone of the Juan Soto trade with the New York Yankees prior to the 2024 season, was unable to lineup on a deal with San Diego prior to the January 9 MLB arbitration deadline — a move that threatened to put both sides in front of arbiters to determine King’s upcoming salary.
With this scenario set to play out later this month, Preller showed the creativity needed to continue to fill out the Padres offseason roster.