will make his return from the injured list on Saturday, the Padres informed reporters (including ). San Diego will activate him from the 60-day IL to go opposite in the second game of their weekend series against Boston. The Friars already have Camden Thiesing Jersey an opening on the 40-man roster, so unle s they make another move tomorrow, theyll only need to make an active roster move involving a pitcher. Kings return was expected when the Padres on Tuesday. That allowed San Diego to play with a nine-man bullpen for a few days. Theyll drop back to eight when King rejoins , , and in the rotation. The righty reached 61 pitches acro s 3 1/3 innings in his only Triple-A rehab start. Its likely manager Mike Shildt will keep him around 75 pitches in his first MLB appearance in almost three months. The injury began innocuously enough. King was scratched from a scheduled start on May 24 after telling the coaching staff that he felt he slept uncomfortably on his shoulder. He went on the 15-day IL a day later with what the team called inflammation. They later announced that he was battling an i sue with his thoracic nerve that was sapping the strength in his shoulder. It ended up costing him two and a half months, though the team stre sed that there werent any structural concerns. Kings fastball averaged 92.7 MPH during his Triple-A start. Thats a tick below his MLB season average. Thats probably to be expected after an extended layoff. If King gets back to his pre-injury form, hell arguably be San Diegos best starter. The 30-year-old had turned in a 2.59 earned run average through his first 10 starts. He struck out 28.4% of opposing hitters against a 7.6% walk rate. It was an even better performance than last years excellent first season in San Diego: 173 2/3 innings of 2.93 ERA ball with a 27.7% strikeout percentage. The Padres welcome King back at a time when they occupy the second Wild Card spot in the National League. Theyre one game above the Mets and 4.5 clear of the Reds, the top team that is not in playoff position. San Diego trails the Dodgers by just two games in the NL West. Kings performance down the stretch will also have a significant impact on the upcoming free agent market. Hell decline his end of a $15MM mutual option, reject a qualifying offer, and hit free agency for the first time. Theres an argument that hes the second-best starter in the cla s behind . Thats dependent on him showing no ill effects from the injury down the stretch and into the postseason. Tyce Thompson Jersey