Padres expected to activate Michael King during Reds' series

Matt Sullivan

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Padres expected to activate Michael King during Reds' series image

The San Diego Padres, sitting one game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, can retake the division lead with a strong finish to the 2025 regular season. While a first-round bye might be difficult to secure, a division win would still be huge.

Not only would it guarantee a home playoff series, it'd also force the Dodgers to face, most likely, the New York Mets in the first round of the playoffs, a difficult matchup in the first series of the postseason.

Fortunately for the Padres, they are getting some reinforcements ahead of their series against the Cincinnati Reds, a huge series for both teams. According to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres are expected to activate Michael King soon.

Padres Expected to Start Michael King on Tuesday

As Acee reports, the Padres are expected to activate King from the injured list to start Tuesday's game against the Reds. King could end up starting four games for the Padres the rest of the season, but more importantly, this is a sign that San Diego believes in his health.

"Padres believe that is sufficient ramp-up for King to give them what they need in postseason start(s)." Acee writes.

That mention of these next four starts qualifying as "ramp-up" starts for King is a good indication of where the Padres stand with their veteran starter. Even though he might not be getting as deep into games as he was to begin the year, he'll still be getting work.

This period, across King's next four projected starts, is designed to ramp up King ot be ready for a postseason workload. While the Padres will likely be aggressive with their deep bullpen come October, having King ready to go by then will be imperative.

MORE: Padres' Manny Machado sounds off on team's 'tough stretch'

His return to the mound is especially important for the Padres, considering that Dylan Cease and the rest of the rotation have been shaky at times this season.

In 2025, across his 11 starts, King has a 2.81 ERA with a 4-2 record. However, King has missed two separate periods due to injury. After his May 18th start, King missed the next few months, returning on August 9th, before going back on the injured list, and missing another month.

Now, according to Acee, the Padres are expected to activate King to start against the Reds on September 9th, a full month since his previous start, which lasted just two innings, as he allowed two earned runs.

King's next few outings are going to be especially important for the Padres, as a strong finish to the 2025 regular season would be a huge boost of confidence for the Padres' postseason chances.

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Matt Sullivan

Matt Sullivan is a freelance writer for The Sporting News, predominantly covering MLB. Matt is a native of Pennsylvania and has worked with Athlon Sports, Last Word on Sports, and other outlets.