SAN DIEGO -- Jackson Merrill has said he wants to be a Padre for life. At the very least, he¡¯s now set to be a Padre for the rest of his 20s.
On Wednesday morning, the 21-year-old center fielder put the finishing touches on a nine-year contract extension that will keep him in San Diego through the 2034 season and carries a club option for ¡¯35. The extension guarantees Merrill $135 million, according to a source.
¡°I couldn¡¯t be more grateful,¡± said Merrill during a press conference Wednesday at the Petco Park auditorium. ¡°I¡¯m just looking forward to keeping it going for the next nine years. This is exactly where I want to be.¡±
Quite an opening week for the Padres, who are off to a 6-0 start -- the best in team history.
San Diego promoted Merrill to the big league club for Opening Day 2024, and he proceeded to turn in perhaps the best rookie campaign in franchise history. Merrill posted an .826 OPS with 24 home runs while playing an outstanding center field. He earned an All-Star appearance and a Silver Slugger Award and finished a close second to Paul Skenes for National League Rookie of the Year.
¡°I¡¯m super, super excited to keep going to work, keep going to battle every day,¡± Merrill said. ¡°The trust that¡¯s in this room right now, I¡¯ve never felt it before. I¡¯ve never felt a connection with a city before like I feel here.¡±
It¡¯s early, but Merrill is already building on that strong rookie campaign. He has begun the 2025 season red-hot, batting .400 with six RBIs. He launched his first home run on Tuesday night in the Padres¡¯ 7-0 victory over the Guardians.
¡°The talent is the talent -- it¡¯s clearly special,¡± said manager Mike Shildt. ¡°But what resonates with me is Jackson¡¯s authenticity and who he is as a person. ¡ It¡¯s really a blessing to be with this guy and work with him. It¡¯s a privilege to be with him the next several years. He¡¯s joining a core group of players that are very special here. He fits right in.¡±
Merrill¡¯s extension further solidifies a Padres core that is set to be in San Diego for the long haul. Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts are all signed with the club through the 2033 season at least.
¡°We¡¯re continuing to add to the core group of guys that are going to bring a championship to San Diego,¡± general manager A.J. Preller said. ¡°Different stages of their careers. Different age brackets. But I think we just want to make sure ¡ that when the fans of San Diego buy a ticket, they know who they¡¯re going to come see. They know they¡¯re going to see excellence, they¡¯re going to see something special.
¡°Jackson has added to that big-time.¡±
Preller revealed Wednesday that the Padres started extension talks with Merrill¡¯s camp dating as far back as two years ago when Merrill had only just finished his first full professional season. As a GM, Preller had never before engaged with a Single-A player about a contract extension.
¡°But Jackson was pretty different,¡± Preller said. ¡°Different kid, different person. He was somebody that, early on, the whole organization said, ¡®Yeah, if we can do this for a long time together, let¡¯s see if we can make it work.¡¯¡±
Merrill and the Padres never got all that close at the time. They re-engaged last offseason before Merrill¡¯s big league callup, but, again, no deal was struck. In the aftermath of Merrill¡¯s breakout rookie season, he reinforced to the Padres his desire to remain in San Diego long term.
¡°That kind of felt a little different than just a conversation that we were having,¡± Preller said. ¡°It kind of felt like he was real serious about it. Obviously, we got it done.¡±
It took until the start of Year 2. By waiting, Merrill undoubtedly earned himself a few extra dollars with his performance. But ultimately the two sides reached the outcome both desired ¨C one Merrill said he¡¯d envisioned for a long, long time.
¡°Literally from the moment that A.J. even talked to me for the first time,¡± Merrill said. ¡°Before the Draft ever even happened in 2021. The Padres were the first team that ever reached out to me, ever scouted me. They believed in me from Day 1. ¡ So from that first instance, just talking to him, I wanted to be here forever.¡±
It¡¯s not quite forever just yet. But for now, another decade of Merrill in brown and gold ought to suffice.