Updated Post: October 29, 2026 at 10:17 am
Clay Holmes has declined his player option for the 2027 season, making him a free agent, Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports. The righty had one year and $12 million left on his contract.
Holmes got off a strong start in 2026, posting a 2.39 ERA through nine starts with the Mets, but he suffered a fractured fibula when he was struck by a line drive on May 15. Holmes was dealt to the Cubs along with Tyrone Taylor right before the trade deadline. While he wasn’t able to maintain his hot start, Holmes still cumulatively finished with a solid 3.29 ERA over 101 1/3 innings.
Original Post: October 29, 2026 at 10:02 am
Michael King has opted out of the remaining two seasons of his contract with the San Diego Padres and will become a free agent for the second year in a row, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. King will not be eligible for the qualifying offer as he received one last year. The contract included a $5 million buyout that was paid when he opted out.
Between his signing bonus, salary and buyout, King earned $22 million on the contract and is leaving two years and $53 million on the table. That is likely the minimum he will look to beat by opting out.
Despite diminished stuff with a drop in pitch movement and spin rate, as well as a decrease in whiff rate and strikeouts, King put up good results in 2026 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP across 185 innings pitched. This was only his second time in his career that King has made 30 starts. He also had an excellent postseason, allowing just one earned run over 14 innings, including a six-out save in Game 3 of the NLDS.
Most contract projections put King at four-to-five years and around $30 million per year. Most teams looking to add a mid-rotation starter will likely consider adding King this offseason.
