The Baltimore Orioles face stiff competition in signing one of baseball’s premier free agent pitchers.
While the Baltimore Orioles have already made multiple massive improvements to their roster over this current MLB offseason, the one aspect of their roster they still haven’t addressed is their starting rotation.
Adding a frontline starter was one of Mike Elias’ main priorities when entering the winter. And while he hasn’t executed any deals for one to this point, there are still plenty of appealing starting arms available in free agency.
One starter who Baltimore has been linked to is Michael King, who went 5-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 15 starts with the San Diego Padres in 2025. And it appears that King’s interest in the Orioles is mutual, as Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reported in a December 14 article that King (who Spotrac projects will sign a six-year, $141 million deal) has narrowed down his potential teams to three: the Orioles, the New York Yankees, and the Boston Red Sox.
Orioles May Need to Outbid Yankees and Red Sox for Michael King
While the Orioles are among King’s final three potential clubs, that doesn’t mean they’re on equal ground with the Red Sox and the Yankees, which The Athletic MLB insider Ken Rosenthal conveyed during a December 15 appearance on Foul Territory.
“Michael King, right-handed pitcher, down to three teams: the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Orioles — all in the AL East. Understandable, if you’re Michael King and you’re in demand. You are a guy who went to high school in Rhode Island, attended Boston College, and obviously has played for the Yankees already. He’s an East Coast guy, not surprising that he’s looking at the East Coast teams; three in the AL East, in particular,” Rosenthal said.
“And in this particular instance, I would expect that the Orioles are going to really have to outbid the Yankees and Red Sox to get Michael King. I know what they’ve done is really exciting, with Alonso, and Helsley, and Taylor Ward, and everything else. But they’re still not a team that is necessarily going to be considered — by Michael King, at least — the way the Yankees and Red Sox are,” he added.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Baltimore might need to overpay to pry King away from their AL East rivals. However, given that the Orioles have been much more active and impactful in improving their roster this offseason, there’s a case to be made that Baltimore should be seen as the favorites to win the AL East in 2026, which could convince King to sign there.
