Miami Marlins president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, made some subtractions and additions this winter with his pitching staff. He traded two starters, Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers, while signing Chris Paddack. He also gave second-year manager Clayton McCullough a closer by signing Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks.
Looking to add some depth in McCullough’s bullpen, Bendix has reportedly signed former St. Louis Cardinals left-hander John King to a one-year contract, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal is reportedly for $1.5 million and is a fully guaranteed big league deal.
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Marlins Add Bullpen Depth With Left-Handed Free Agent John King
John King | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
King spent the last couple of years as a key piece to the Cardinals’ bullpen. He made $1.6 million in 2025 and was non-tendered by St. Louis after the World Series in November. According to John Denton of MLB.com, King is a big groundball pitcher.
“King produced a ground-ball rate of 61.5 percent in 2024 and 60 percent in 2025 – both figures ranking in MLB’s 98th percentile, per Baseball Savant. However, King – who recently welcomed the birth of his first child – saw his ERA spike to 4.66 in 2025 after posting a 2.85 mark in 2024,” wrote Denton back in November.
In 51 appearances last season, the 31-year-old King had a 4.66 ERA in 48.1 innings with just 28 strikeouts. His number sin 2024 were better in 56 appearances, where he had a 2.85 ERA in 60 innings with 38 strikeouts and a 0.8 WAR, which was the second-best of his career. He broke in with the Texas Rangers before going to the Cardinals as part of a trade that sent Jordan Montgomery to the Rangers, which ended up being a five-player trade at the trade deadline in 2023.
It certainly has been an eventful last month-plus for Bendix and the Marlins in terms of roster turnover when it comes to pitching. He traded two key pieces of his starting rotation, but he added what McCullough has been missing with a bona fide closer at the backend for Miami going into spring training.
If the Marlins are going to exceed expectations for a second straight season, they’ll have to do so with a starting rotation that is young and a bullpen that has added some key pieces over the offseason. Miami adding a left-hander out of the bullpen with experience like King could end up being an underrated move this offseason if he can return to his 2024 form.
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