Free agent righthander Michael King has the Red Sox, Yankees, and Orioles among the teams he is considering, a major league source told the Globe on Sunday.
King was 18-12 with a 3.10 ERA and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings the last two seasons for the Padres.
The 30-year-old played at Bishop Hendricken High in Rhode Island, then pitched at Boston College from 2014-16. He had a 3.38 ERA over 115 games with the Yankees from 2019-23.
After working as a multi-inning reliever, King started his final eight games for the Yankees in 2023 and had a 1.88 ERA. He was sent to the Padres after that season as part of the trade that returned Juan Soto.
Over his career, King is 18-21 with a 3.35 ERA in 64 starts. His presence would further improve a Red Sox rotation that has already added Sonny Gray and Johan Ovideo via trade this offseason while at the same time allowing the Red Sox more freedom to use some of their younger starters as trade chips to fill other needs.
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King has a 3.38 ERA in six games at Fenway Park and allowed two earned runs over 10⅔ innings in two starts.
King left 45 tickets for friends and family when he pitched at Fenway on June 29, 2024. He had a three-hit shutout through five innings before Jarren Duran homered leading off the sixth.
“It’s fun,” King said after the game. “I came here as a high schooler and college kid. I watched them celebrate in 2013. It’s close to home whenever I come here.”
King could call Fenway home if the Red Sox are prepared to outbid their division rivals.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.