Analyzing Merrill's massive contract extension: 'My goal is to win'

SAN DIEGO -- Quite a season-opening homestand in San Diego, huh?

The Padres put the cherry on top of their 7-0 start to the season -- the best in franchise history -- by signing Jackson Merrill to a nine-year extension on Wednesday. That deal begins next year and will keep Merrill in San Diego through the 2034 season.

Here’s a look at what it means:

1. The Padres' window remains wide open

When the season began, general manager A.J. Preller insisted there wasn't any additional weight riding on this particular 2025 campaign. Sure, the Padres have notable question marks looming after the season -- free agents and pending pay increases.

But Preller has touted this core as one that can contend for the long-haul. And that's certainly more feasible now that one of the sport's most exciting young players is under contract for the entirety of his 20s.

“We’re continuing to add to the core group of guys that are going to bring a championship to San Diego,” Preller said at Wednesday’s press conference.

In the shorter term, Merrill is surrounded by Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove as veteran Padres with long-term deals. In the longer term, top prospects Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas are viewed as important pieces in the team’s future.

And perhaps most notably, how's this as a foundation to build a baseball team around: a 21-year-old Merrill and a 26-year-old Fernando Tatis Jr. are both locked up through the 2034 season.

“It’ll be funny looking over at him in right field every day, knowing that it’s going to be like that for a really long time,” Merrill said. “Tati’s been just like me. He’s a kid playing the game.”

Added Tatis: “He definitely deserves it. I can’t wait to play nine more years, right next to him.”

2. The Merrill story is an organizational success

Preller was quick to heap praise upon his scouting department during Wednesday's press conference. Merrill played his high school ball in Severna Park, Md., not exactly a baseball hotbed. He didn't appear on the showcase circuit and wasn’t a hot commodity in the buildup to the 2021 Draft.

"It's really tough to find diamonds in the rough and under-the-radar players, because there's a lot of information out there,” Preller said. “Honestly Jackson was a guy that a lot of teams didn't have targeted as a first-round-type talent.”

The Padres placed him toward the top of their Draft board -- and crossed their fingers that he would fall to the 27th pick. When Merrill posted a picture of himself with a Padres area scout on Instagram, that scout called and politely asked him to delete it.

When Preller first scouted Merrill, he did so from the adjacent bleachers of a high school football stadium, so as not to invite any buzz. It was 2021, with COVID protocols still in place, and Preller was subsequently kicked out of those bleachers by a security guard, drawing precisely the attention he didn't want.

"Probably a bad covert mission," Preller said.

But he refused to divulge his identity that day.

"Yeah, that was a true story," Merrill laughed. "My dad thought he was an international scout for about a year."

Sure enough, Merrill fell to the Padres, and they happily scooped him up -- then developed him and hung onto him, even amid Juan Soto trade negotiations. Then, just after his ascension to stardom had begun, they locked him up long-term.

As such, Wednesday's announcement was an organizational victory from top to bottom.

3. Merrill could go down as an all-time Padres great

Merrill has already turned in one of the best rookie seasons in Padres history, and he's started Year 2 even stronger than Year 1. With another decade in brown and gold, Merrill could ascend to remarkable heights.

Currently, Steve Finley is regarded as the franchise's greatest ever center fielder. Merrill might attain that status during the first half of his new contract.

With his peak years still ahead of him, it's reasonable to wonder if Merrill could reach to the upper echelon of franchise greats. Tony Gwynn deserves his own category. But Trevor Hoffman and Dave Winfield -- likely to be joined soon by Machado and Tatis -- could welcome Merrill into their company over the next decade.

Of course, the surest path happens to be the very thing Merrill says he's most interested in attaining over the course of his contract.

"Winning," he said. "And just winning only. There's so much in a contract, with money and all that. But my goal is to win. It's always been to win. It's always been to dominate with my boys on the field. I'm just happy I get to do it for a long amount of time now."