Jackson Merrill, Padres Reportedly Agree to 9-Year, $135M Contract Extension

Jackson Merrill could be sticking around in San Diego for another decade.

The Padres and Merrill have agreed to a nine-year, $135 million extension worth a maximum of $204 million, per FanSided's Robert Murray.

The deal includes a $30 million club option for a 10th season that can convert to a player option, Murray noted.

Merrill finished the 2024 season as runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year after leading MLB rookies with a .292 batting average, 61 extra-base hits and 90 RBI.

He has looked just as effective during the early stages of his second MLB campaign. He's hitting .400 through six games as the Padres' starting center fielder.

His new contract was finalized the day after he hit his first home run of the season during the Padres' 7-0 home win over the Cleveland Guardians.

The Padres discussed an extension with Merrill before his first MLB start last offseason, but "the two sides did not come to an agreement," per The Athletic's Dennis Lin.

More recently, Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller told Lin that the Padres had held conversations with Merrill "at different moments over the last few years, even dating back to when he was in the minor leagues."

"We were just like, ‘Was there a creative way to do something before he broke into the big leagues? And even last year, when he was breaking into the big leagues?’ Ultimately, we never got to anything concrete," Preller told Lin.

That persistence apparently paid off. The Padres have now locked Merrill up before he could further raise his negotiating price with another potential All-Star and Silver Slugger Award-winning season.

The extension could be seen as an indication of a larger change in how the Padres handle their star players. The franchise is now a year-and-a-half removed from trading Juan Soto to the New York Yankees ahead of the final season of his contract.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale previously reported that the Padres were negotiating an extension for Soto before the death of former owner Peter Seidler in November 2023. The club ultimately traded Soto amid the beginning of a high-profile legal dispute over ownership of the franchise.

Signing Merrill early in his career is a promising sign that the Padres are preparing to end a pattern of trading stars or allowing them to walk in free agency rather than keeping them in San Diego.