It turns out that A.J. Preller was simply waiting to get Michael King's signature on the dotted line, because the San Diego Padres' president of baseball operations immediately turned around and signed KBO star Sung-mun Song to a three-year deal mere hours later.
Song should greatly bolster the depth for the Friars after emerging as a star in Korea over the past couple of seasons, and he peaked with 26 home runs, 25 steals, and a .917 OPS in 2025.
Perhaps most importantly, he displayed strong defensive versatility, drawing starts at third, second, and first base.