WEST SACRAMENTO -- The Padres have Jackson Merrill locked up for the next 10 years. As such, they¡¯re fine taking the next 10 days to make sure he¡¯s healthy.
Ahead of its game Tuesday against the A¡¯s, San Diego placed Merrill on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, recalling outfielder Oscar Gonzalez in his place.
The team is optimistic that Merrill, who last week inked a nine-year contract extension through the 2034 season, won¡¯t be out long. Here¡¯s a look at the injury and what it means for the Padres:
How long is Merrill out?
The IL placement rules Merrill out for the upcoming six-game homestand, which begins Friday night. Merrill will be eligible to return on April 18, when San Diego opens a three-game series in Houston.
Early indications are that Merrill¡¯s IL stint could last only the minimum 10 days. But the Padres will re-evaluate as they get closer to their next road trip through Houston and Detroit.
¡°The good news is, at the moment, it doesn¡¯t appear to be anything overly serious,¡± said Padres manager Mike Shildt. ¡°There wasn¡¯t a traumatic event that caused it. There was some tightness that clearly is real. He¡¯s working really diligently, as you would expect, to get treatment.
¡°We just felt like it was going to be close to the 10 days -- right at that mark. Instead of playing [one player] short ¡ just go ahead and get it done.¡±
After Merrill played 156 games in his rookie season, his IL stint is his first as a big leaguer.
Who replaces Merrill in center field?
There¡¯s only one center fielder on the active roster: Brandon Lockridge.
¡°You could expect to see Lock stay in center field,¡± Shildt said. ¡°And then, we¡¯ll just play the game as we see it [in left field], relative to righties and lefties.¡±
Until Merrill missed his first game on Monday, Lockridge had been serving as part of a left field platoon with Jason Heyward. On Tuesday, the Padres went with a bit of a strange alignment, using infielder Jose Iglesias in left -- his first professional appearance in the outfield.
That plan was short-lived, as the Padres' injury issues quickly compounded. Both Jake Cronenworth (right side contusion) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (left shoulder discomfort) exited Tuesday¡¯s game -- a 10-4 loss to the A¡¯s. Iglesias would slide to second base, with Gonzalez replacing him in left, while Heyward took over for Tatis in right.
Tatis said he expects to avoid an IL stint, meaning when he returns, the Padres could be looking at a platoon between the lefty-hitting Heyward and the righty-hitting Gonzalez in left field.
How do the Padres replace Merrill in the lineup?
The short answer is: They can¡¯t. Production-wise, at least.
After posting the best rookie season in franchise history in 2024, Merrill was off to a torrid start to his ¡¯25 campaign. In his most recent game, he launched a no-doubt home run to straightaway center at Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon. Through 10 games, Merrill is hitting .378 with a 1.091 OPS.
But Shildt often likes to talk about challenges through the lens of the opportunities they create. The biggest opportunities fall to Lockridge and Gonzalez.
Gonzalez was a Spring Training standout, posting a .995 OPS across 21 Cactus League games. He was one of the final cuts from the team¡¯s Opening Day roster but was added to the 40-man roster on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lockridge, who boasts elite speed and defense, now slots into the No. 8 spot in the order, against both lefties and righties, ahead of the starting catcher. With defense the obvious priority at the bottom, the Padres will ask the fearsome top of their lineup to carry the day offensively.
Perhaps the most intriguing question regarding the Padres plans is this one: Who plays center field if the Padres need to pinch-hit for Lockridge?
Heyward and Gonzalez have done it in the past, but they aren¡¯t as rangy as they once were. Of course, the Padres employ a certain right fielder who -- if healthy -- can cover an awful lot of ground defensively.