Tom Krasovic: Michael King’s back just in time to help Padres make stretch run

When Michael King was first sidelined by a shoulder ailment, I figured the Padres would do well just to stay afloat until his return.

The Padres didn’t sink into San Diego Bay without their ace. Nor did they tread water.

They did a James Bond parasail maneuver. Barely mussing their hair, the Padres went 36-30 (.545) in the 66 games coming into this weekend. On May 24, the day King woke up with a shoulder ailment, the Padres were seven games above .500. They’re 13 over .500 now.

The feat of organizational agility seems now a big deal on two fronts: it helped the Padres pull away from pursuers in the wild-card race, which means a playoff berth is now theirs to lose; and, wonder of wonders, it positioned them to challenge the Dodgers for the National League West title and a possible first-round playoff bye.

King is scheduled to return Saturday after missing close to half the season. The 30-year-old right-hander will take on the Red Sox at Petco Park.

You can be sure Bruce Bochy is impressed.

Bochy, the four-time World Series champion, has long said that the loss of a frontline pitcher is tougher to overcome than setbacks to most other players during a season.

The Padres expected a lot from King — something like his 173 innings of last year.

When he woke up in a suburban Atlanta hotel room with a knot on his right shoulder, King had thrown 55 2/3 innings over 10 starts. His ERA was 2.59, and his adjusted ERA was 65% better than MLB’s average.

How were the Padres able to do the Bond stunt?

Let’s start with an oft-repeated truth that has applied since the team’s 2020-21 offseason.

A.J. Preller and staff have a good feel when it comes to pitching.

As King recovered, the Padres continued to pitch well. Their MLB-best bullpen did a fine job. The rotation, led by veterans Nick Pivetta and Dylan Cease, ranked among MLB’s leaders. It placed first in win shares (8.2), fifth in ERA (3.68) and fifth in fielding-independent ERA (3.86).

Pivetta was the Padre who did the most to offset King’s absence, going 6-1 with a 2.74 ERA in 12 starts heading into Friday’s start.

Pivetta has proved a large bargain in comparison to many free-agent pitchers who commanded a lot more money from other teams in the past few offseasons.

Notice that while Preller has paid top industry dollar for a few free-agent hitters, he hasn’t done it with any starting pitchers. If modest by MLB standards, the investment in Pivetta — four years and $55 million plus the loss of a high-end 2025 draft pick  — is Preller’s biggest splurge for a free-agent starting pitcher since his bet on James Shields as a rookie GM. Pivetta has responded with a career-best season.

Preller could’ve traded for a starting pitcher in response to King’s injury.

He trusted his own guys instead, and was rewarded by three low-cost right-handers who did credible or better work.

Ryan Bergert, Randy Vásquez and Stephen Kolek all outperformed their meager salaries. Strengths were accentuated. Weaknesses were camouflaged. The job got done, well enough. Theirs was an organizational victory.

Preller bet that Kolek could keep the ball in the ballpark. He induces a high rate of groundballs. Petco Park tends to suppress home runs more than most ballparks do.

That’s how it played out. The former Rule 5 draftee made 10 starts, pitched 54 1/2 innings and posted a 4.80 ERA on a league-minimum salary.

Bergert throws a high-spin fastball that appears to hop. The rookie’s poise was another strength. One more spy metaphor: As evasive as Jason Bourne, Bergert posted the rotation-best 84.7% strand rate across 11 starts in the 66-game stretch. Berget spun a 3.13 ERA, outperforming his league-minimum salary and the $500,000 signing bonus he got as a sixth-round draftee.

Vásquez hung in there, logging 12 starts and a 4.30 ERA. He may have lacked the pitches to survive prolonged exposure to good lefty hitters. But he helped himself by walking righties at a low rate. He earned his keep on a league-minimum salary.

From there, Preller opted against doubling down.

He dealt Bergert and Kolek last week to the Royals for Freddy Fermin, who may be the much-needed upgrade at catcher. Sunday, Preller sent Vasquez to Triple-A El Paso. This demotion will presumably allow the pitcher to reset following a rough showing against the Cardinals and a busy season.

Sunday’s move opened up a spot in the starting rotation. By then, King’s return seemed imminent. Yu Darvish was coming off a sharp outing. The ball would be going to two veteran pitchers obtained in trades last week, JP Sears and Nestor Cortes.

Going forward, King probably won’t be doing any commercials about getting a good night’s sleep in a hotel.

He won’t need a wakeup call, though, to know the stretch drive — enabled in part by the Padres’ 36-30 record without him — has arrived.