SAN DIEGO -- Jackson Merrill just hit 16 home runs, 25 doubles and posted a .774 OPS in 2025. By any objective standard, that’s an excellent year for any 22-year-old center fielder.
But by the lofty standard Merrill set for himself as a rookie in 2024, it wasn’t what he wanted it to be.
Mostly, that’s no fault of Merrill’s. His 2025 campaign featured far too many stops and starts. He dealt with a trio of injuries and never quite established a rhythm at the plate. When he finally did, in late September into October, the Padres’ season came to an early end.
In the immediate aftermath of their Game 3 Wild Card Series loss to the Cubs, Merrill was asked to sum up his year.
“I’m appreciative of it,” he said. “I wish it didn’t go the way it did. I wish I was never hurt. But a lot of learning, and I’m appreciative of that.”
Now, as the calendar turns to 2026, Merrill is an obvious candidate to bounce back -- as much as you can “bounce back” from a season that was still quite productive.
“That guy's a stud,” said new Padres manager Craig Stammen, when he was asked about Merrill at the Winter Meetings. “I'm expecting him to be the stud he is. Great rookie year. Last year was kind of hit-or-miss with the injuries. The concussion, just coming back from those injuries was tough on him. I think at the end of the season, we saw who Jackson was and how he can bounce back from adversity. We're expecting great things from him this year.”
Indeed, Merrill finally began to look like himself down the stretch last season. That was only after he’d missed a month with a hamstring strain, then another few weeks with a concussion and, later, an ankle sprain.
When he returned from that ankle injury in September, Merrill vowed that he wouldn’t miss any more time, no matter how much that ankle barked. He vowed to finish strong.
And he did exactly that. In September, Merrill homered seven times and recorded a .946 OPS. He was perhaps the Padres’ best offensive player in that Wild Card Series -- including a solo home run and a double in that heartbreaking Game 3 loss.
“In ’24, when he was healthy start to finish, I think he could have been in MVP consideration that year, along with, obviously, Rookie of the Year,” said Padres general manager A.J. Preller. “Last year, he got off to a great start. I thought in Spring Training it looked like he’d taken even another step. Early in the season he was playing great. Then he had the injuries. Hopefully that’s something that he’s able to put behind him.
“The nice part was kind of seeing him, for the first time at the big league level, have some struggle and then break through in the last month. It felt like that was the Jackson Merrill that we had watched early in the year and in the ’24 season. He was one of the better players on the field in that playoff series. So having him back every single day, healthy, playing like Jackson, continuing to get better, that’s big for us.”
Of course, the most important thing to happen for Merrill and the Padres in 2025 was the nine-year contract extension he signed in April. The Padres have Merrill locked up through the 2034 season -- on a very reasonable deal. He’s a piece they can build around for the next decade.
Said Preller: “He’s a huge part of what we’re doing, to have a player that plays in the middle of the field and can really impact the game, all parts of it -- offensively, defensively, power, speed, hit.”
Call it a sophomore slump if you must. Merrill clearly didn’t perform at the level he did in 2024, when he challenged Paul Skenes in one of the most exciting Rookie of the Year races in recent memory.
But there’s reason to believe Merrill can get back to that level -- and potentially exceed it. At least two of those injuries -- the concussion and the ankle sprain -- were complete fluke occurrences. Now, Merrill is healthy, and the Padres envision big things in Year 3.
“He's going to be a stud in our lineup,” Stammen said. “Somebody we rely on and count on, not just from on-field performance, but just his attitude, mentality and leadership in the clubhouse.”