Who Will Replace Injured Jackson Merrill on Padres Roster?

In what was originally a precautionary move to hold Merrill out of the lineup due to tightness the 21-year-old felt while the team was playing the Chicago Cubs, the Padres are now placing him on the IL as his injury has not progressed in the way the Padres wanted.

The Padres have recalled outfielder Oscar Gonzalez, who is on his way to West Sacramento from Triple-A El Paso.

Gonzalez is an outfielder who barely missed the cut for the Opening Day roster, but had an incredibly productive spring, batting .400 and adding 22 hits while finishing with an OPS of .995.

The 27-year-old spent the last two seasons with the Cleveland Guardians and is a career .269/.299/.413 hitter with an OPS of .712 over 145 games in the big leagues.

It also appears that Jose Iglesias getting his first career start in the outfield is all but a coincidence not that the center fielder of the future is on the IL.

The All-Star was picked up towards the end of the offseason for his versatility and proven leadership with the New York Mets last season and his extremely positive impact.

As for Merrill, he will have to wait just a little longer before returning to the field. An IL move can feel deflating for any star, but with the recent excitement of the 21-year-old signing a nine-year, $135 million contract extension, it stings that much more than usual.

Merrill also made it clear upon putting pen to paper that he wants to be in San Diego for the long haul. When asked about when he knew he wanted to sign an extension, he revealed how long this decision has been in the works.

“Literally from the moment that (general manager A.J. Preller) 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.”

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