Jackson Merrill and Padres agree to $135 million, 9-year contract for 2026-34, AP source says
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by Fansided, had not been announced.
Merrill's deal includes a $30 million team option for 2035 that would convert to a player option if he has a top five finish in MVP voting at any point during the contract.
Merrill, who turns 22 on April 19, made his major league debut last season and became an All-Star, hitting .292 with 24 homers, 90 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting to Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Skenes.
He has an $809,500 salary while in the major leagues this year after earning the $740,000 minimum last year and gaining $1,191,534 from the pre-arbitration bonus pool.
Merrill would have been eligible for arbitration after the 2026 season and for free agency after the 2029 World Series.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
21 minutes ago
- USA Today
Clayton Kershaw is a 2025 MLB All-Star as 'Legend Pick' for Midsummer Classic
There were the young All-Stars, the first-time All-Stars and the old All-Stars, but no name resonated more brightly Sunday during the selections was Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Clayton Kershaw. Just four days after entering the record books with his 3,000th strikeout, Kershaw is now going to the All-Star Game for the 11th time of his illustrious career, chosen by commissioner Rob Manfred as his 'Legend Pick" in recognition of the Dodgers veteran. Kershaw, the oldest All-Star at 37 years old, becomes the first All-Star chosen by Manfred since 2022 when he chose Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, who were in the final year of their careers. Kershaw has not announced whether this will be his final season, but after three Cy Youngs, two World Series championships and becoming the 20th pitcher to achieve 3,000 strikeouts, his Hall of Fame resume is already complete. MLB ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS: Check out the full teams for Midsummer Classic Kershaw is one of five Dodgers who will be at the All-Star Game, joining Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the most by any team. The first-place Detroit Tigers (Tarik Skubal, Gleyber Torres, Riley Greene and Javier Baez) and the Seattle Mariners (Cal Raleigh, Bryan Woo, Julio Rodriguez and Andres Muñoz) have the second-most representatives with four All-Stars apiece. There are 19 first-time All Stars, including 21 players who are 26 years old are younger, with 22-year-old James Wood of the Washington Nationals being the youngest. Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson, 23, is the youngest AL player, and joins his father, Jack, as the first father-son duo to be selected as All-Star shortstops, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Shane Smith is not only the first Chicago White Sox rookie pitcher to make the All-Star team, but also becomes only the second player to be a Rule 5 Draft pick and make the All-Star team the following season, joining Miami Marlins infielder Dan Uggla in 2006. Texas Rangers starter Jacob deGrom, the two-time Cy Young award winner and a candidate to win his third, is returning to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2021. He's 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA and his 101⅓ innings pitches are the most he's accumulated since 2021. There, of course, are plenty of players who were snubbed, well at least initially considering there are about a dozen players added before the July 15 All-Star Game with injuries and pitching limits. St. Louis Cardinals ace Sonny Gray, Astros starter Framber Valdez, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer, Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, Phillies starter Ranger Suarez and Rays third baseman Junior Caminero were among the omissions. Other snubs included Orioles infielden Jackson Holliday, Astros reliever Bryan Abreu, Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez, Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson, Angels shortstop Zach Neto, Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and Cubs catcher Carson Kelly. San Francisco Giants DH Rafael Devers may have gotten robbed of an All-Star selection simply by being traded last month from the Boston Red Sox. Devers entered the day hitting .262 with 17 homers, 67 RBI and an .866 OPS, but his numbers paled in comparison to Shohei Ohtani (30 homers, 56 RBI, 1.002 OPS) and Kyle Schwarber (27 homers, 62 RBI, .922 OPS), who were the top two picks on the players' ballot. The players ballot, which also included managers and coaches, once again provided intrigue. They voted for Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña to be the starter, which went to Wilson in the fan balloting. They also voted for Jonathan Aranda of the Tampa Bay Rays to be the starting first baseman instead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays. While Freeman is the NL's starting first baseman, the players wanted New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who easily won their vote. Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. received the most fan votes, despite not making his season debut until May 23, but finished only fifth in the player balloting. Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton wasn't chosen by the fans, but he received the second-most votes from AL outfielders by the players, behind only Yankees MVP Aaron Judge. In the NL, the players voted Padres setup reliever Jason Adam to the All-Star team, but not teammate Robert Suarez, the Padres closer, who is tied for the MLB lead with 24 saves. San Francisco Giants reliever Randy Rodriguez received the most votes among NL relievers, followed by Edwin Diaz of the Mets. In the AL, Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman received the most votes ahead of Josh Hader of the Houston Astros, who has been perfect in 25 save situations. The AL All-Stars selected by the players: The NL All-Star chosen by the players: MLB made six selections in each league to fill out their roster, and to assure that every club was represented. In the AL, Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm and Witt, of the Royals were chosen, along with pitchers Kris Bubic of the Royals, Yusei Kikuchi of the Los Angeles Angels, Woo and Smith. In the NL, MLB chose 34-year-old Cubs starter Matthew Boyd for his first All-Star Game, also with starters Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers, Robbie Ray of the Giants and Yamamoto. It also selected first baseman Matt Olson of Atlanta and Kyle Stowers of the Miami Marlins. While Tarik Skubal should easily be the choice to start the All-Star Game for the AL, it will be a fascinating decision for NL manager Dave Roberts of the Dodgers to choose between Zach Wheeler of the Phillies and Skenes of the Pirates. Wheeler threw a one-hit complete game Sunday, retiring 27 of the 28 batters he faced with 12 strikeouts while Skenes leads the NL in ERA (2.03) and opponent's batting average (.182). Skenes told reporters he'd love to start again after having the honor in last year's All-Star Game as a rookie, but most of all, would love to sit down and chat with Skubal, who is 10-2 with a 2.02 ERA this season, with 148 strikeouts in 116 innings 'It would be cool, he said. 'More than anything, I want to get him off to the side and ask him how he does what he does, basically. I've talked with him a little bit, but to see him do it again, at an even higher level than he did last year arguably, it's pretty dang cool.' Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
Fox Sports
23 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Clayton Kershaw makes his 11th All-Star team. James Wood the youngest All-Star at 22
Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was picked for his 11th All-Star Game and Paul Skenes, James Wood and Elly De La Cruz boosted the 23-and-under group to five when they were picked Sunday for the July 15 showcase at Atlanta's Truist Park. Wood at 22 is the youngest of the 65 All-Stars, while Skenes, De La Cruz and fan-elected starters Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jacob Wilson are all 23. Cal Raleigh and Yoshinobu Yamamoto joined Wood, Wilson and Crow-Armstrong among 19 first-time All-Stars. Wood was acquired by Washington in the August 2022 trade that sent outfielder Juan Soto to San Diego. 'It'll just be cool being around some of the best players in the game,' Wood said. Kershaw last week became the 20th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts and Commissioner Rob Manfred made the left-hander the 65th All-Star as a so-called Legend Pick, his first since selecting Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols in 2022 under a provision in the then-new collective bargaining agreement. Kershaw gives the Dodgers at least five All-Stars for the sixth straight season. The oldest NL All-Star at 37 and most senior All-Star with 11 selections, Kershaw is joined by Yamamoto and fan-elected starters Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. Atlanta, Detroit and Seattle will have four players each at the game. Starting pitchers Hunter Brown of Houston, Garrett Crochet of Boston, Jacob deGrom of Texas, Max Fried of the New York Yankees and Tarik Skubal of Detroit were voted to the AL staff by players, managers and coaches along with relievers Aroldis Chapman of Boston, Josh Hader of Houston and Andres Munoz of Seattle. Chapman is the oldest All-Star, born 19 days before Kershaw. AL reserves picked by players included Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk, Tampa Bay first baseman Jonathan Aranda and second baseman Brandon Lowe, Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena, Boston third baseman Alex Bregman, Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker and outfielders Byron Buxton of Minnesota, Steven Kwan of Cleveland and Julio Rodriguez of Seattle. MLB used its six picks on pitchers Kris Bubic of Kansas City, Yusei Kikuchi of the Los Angeles Angels, Shane Smith of the Chicago White Sox and Bryan Woo of Seattle along with Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Smith became the second player since 2000 to become an All-Star in the season after he was selected in the Rule 5 draft, following Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla in 2006, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Smith was left unprotected by Milwaukee and joined Wilson (Athletics) as the only rookies on the All-Star rosters. Pittsburgh's Skenes, Washington's MacKenzie Gore, Atlanta's Chris Sale, San Francisco's Logan Webb and Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler were elected to the starting rotation by players along with relievers Jason Adam of San Diego, Edwin Diaz of the New York Mets and Randy Rodriguez of San Francisco. Skeenes started last year's All-Star Game just 66 days his major league debut, pitching a hitless inning in the NL's 5-3 loss at Arlington, Texas. Player-elected NL reserves were Colorado catcher Hunter Goodman, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, St. Louis second baseman Brendan Donovan, Cincinnati's De La Cruz at shortstop, Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suárez, Philadelphia DH Kyle Schwarber and Wood, Arizona's Corbin Carroll and the Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. in the outfield. MLB's NL picks were Yamamoto, the Cubs' Matthew Boyd, Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta and the Giants' Robbie Ray for the pitching staff along with Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson and Miami outfielder Kyle Stowers. ___ AP freelance writer Patrick Stevens in Washington contributed to this report. ___ AP MLB: recommended
Hamilton Spectator
23 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Tigers get 10th-inning homers from Sweeney and Greene and extend Guardians' skid to 10 with 7-2 win
CLEVELAND (AP) — Trey Sweeney and Riley Greene homered during a six-run 10th inning on Sunday as the Detroit Tigers beat Cleveland 7-2, extending the Guardians' losing streak to 10 games. Javier Báez had two hits and Tarik Skubal struck out 10 as the AL-best Tigers swept the three-game series. Cleveland was one strike away from ending its skid when closer Emmanuel Clase threw a wild pitch, allowing pinch-runner Zach McKinstry to score the tying run with two outs in the ninth. The Guardians' double-digit streak is the 11th in team history and the first since Cleveland dropped 11 in a row in 2012. The franchise record is 12 in 1931. Cleveland's Steven Kwan had three hits, including an RBI double in the eighth. Báez singled leading off the 10th with automatic runner Parker Meadows aboard and Sweeney followed with a three-run drive down the left-field line off Cade Smith (2-3) for a 4-1 lead. Skubal — the reigning AL Cy Young winner and possible starter in next week's All-Star Game — allowed three hits in seven innings. It was his sixth double-digit strikeout game of the season and 13th of his career. Chase Lee (4-0) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Cleveland's Gavin Williams allowed one hit in six innings and struck out eight. Key moment The Tigers padded their lead in the 10th on Matt Vierling's RBI double and Greene's two-run homer, his 22nd. Key stat Greene is the 15th Detroit player to hit at least 22 homers before the All-Star break. The last was J.D. Martinez, who had 25 in 2015. Up next Tigers: Have not named a starter for Monday's series opener against visiting Tampa Bay. Guardians: Open a six-game trip at Houston on Monday. RHP Tanner Bibee (4-9, 4.20 ERA) goes up against Astros RHP Hunter Brown (9-3, 1.82). ___ AP MLB:
