Around Major League Baseball, there are a few different ways to look at free agents.
Players who receive a qualifying offer are typically in a strange spot, but that doesn’t appear to be an issue for someone the New York Yankees are interested in bringing in.
After the San Diego Padres gave Michael King a qualifying offer, some thought the Yankees might hesitate because they would have to forfeit a draft pick.
However, according to the latest from Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that isn’t the case. Hoch added that the Yankees love King, and nobody in the building has a bad thing to say about the right-hander.
“There's real interest. The qualifying offer is inconvenient, but it wouldn't necessarily stop them from signing him. They lost a compensation pick last year for signing Max Fried and hardly blinked about it.
“Let me also say here, you won't find a person in the Yankees' organization with a negative thing to say about King. They loved him -- he's a bulldog and he fits their current needs in so many ways. They had to give King up to bring in Juan Soto, and it was a price worth paying to get to a World Series, even with how it all turned out,” he wrote.
When King is healthy and on the mound, there’s a strong argument that he’s among the best right-handers in baseball.
That said, it can’t be ignored that he has dealt with several injuries in recent years.
With the Padres last season, he was rarely on the mound.
That may not be a dealbreaker for the Yankees, but it’s certainly something they have to consider given their current rotation health concerns.
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