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The San Diego Padres have tied outfielder Jackson Merrill's long-term future to the ballclub after completing a nine-year, $135 million extension to keep him on the team through 2034. The 21-year-old expressed his gratitude to the franchise for believing in his talent as a youth while seemingly also taking a thinly veiled shot at New York Mets slugger Juan Soto.
Jackson Merrill's comments upon signing his extension have drawn split reactions from fans on social media. Naturally, the Padres faithful liked the feisty statement from their center fielder, while Mets fans slammed him for it.
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"The Padres were the first team that ever reached out to me, scouted me, they believed in me from day one. A.J. [Preller] has been there by my side, being my biggest supporter," Merrill said via EmpireSportsMedia.com. "From that first instance of talking with him, I knew I wanted to be here forever. My goal is to win. To dominate on the field with my boys. I’m just happy I get to do it for a long time now.
"I know there are contracts out there that are beyond absurd, but having a relationship with a real human being and a real team like I have here, you can’t beat that," Merrill told the media. "You know, you can’t just sign for $700M and want everything to be perfect," he added.
Mets fans offered a hot response to Merrill's words on X/Twitter:
"Maybe because you're not worth 700M?" one fan said.
"You aren’t on same level," another one wrote.
"Pathetic fool. Maybe just appreciate your contract instead of showing you're jealous of Soto," another fan replied.
Meanwhile, Padres supporters shared their response on X as well:
"That's my boy now," one Padres fan replied.
"Talk your s***, Jackson," another fan said.
"Soto basically wanted his back rubbed and his feet massaged. Merrill is my guy for this," one fan added.
Despite signing his long-term extension, Jackson Merrill will still receive a pre-arbitration salary of $740,000 this season. The terms of his new contract will only come into effect from next season.
Jackson Merril is just a winning player: Fernando Tatis Jr.
Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was delighted to learn that Jackson Merrill had signed a contract extension with the team. Like Merrill, the Padres have also tied up Tatis' future with the club after agreeing on a 14-year, $340 million contract extension in 2021.
"It's been amazing momentum. So happy for my boy Jackson. He definitely deserves it," Tatis said postgame after beating the Cleveland Guardians 7-0 on Wednesday. "Can't wait to play nine more years right next to him. It's just great baseball all around, we have a great ball club over here and we came out of the gate with the right foot.
"He's just a winning player, as simple as that. He's going to play the game really hard, he's going to play the game the right way. And that's why he got almost $200 million," he added.
Jackson Merrill batted .292/.326/.500 with 24 home runs, 90 RBIs and an OPS+ of 128 during his rookie campaign last year. He won a Silver Slugger award but was somewhat unfortunate to finish as the runner-up for the National League Rookie of the Year behind Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes.
