PEORIA, Ariz. — Less than a week after left fielder Juan Soto and center fielder Trent Grisham were traded in the same December blockbuster, the lone remaining starting-caliber outfielder on the San Diego Padres embarked on a brief winter-ball campaign. It was around then that Padres manager Mike Shildt visited the Dominican Republic as right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. played for his hometown Estrellas Orientales. And it was around then, Shildt recalled, that an ambitious idea was hatched.
“We talked in the Dominican that he was going to play center and right at the same time, and he was OK with that,” Shildt said Tuesday. “And I was just going to petition the league, like, ‘Listen, if we can have him hit second and seventh and have a pinch-runner for him, would you guys be OK if we played an outfielder short? Just have Tati play, you know, right and center but he gets to hit twice.’”
Shildt, of course, was joking. Yet his quip on the third day of spring training helped illustrate something quite serious: A month from their scheduled departure for Seoul, South Korea, the Padres might still have only one starting-caliber outfielder. Jurickson Profar should soon join Tatis and José Azocar on the 40-man roster, but in terms of proven producers, San Diego’s outfield remains glaringly thin.
The Padres, according to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, continue to have active discussions with other teams and free agents. Those talks have been at least slightly tempered by how the organization feels about a possible internal solution. Like Tatis did in 2019, shortstop prospect Jackson Merrill could debut in the majors as a 20-year-old. And like Tatis — a converted shortstop — did last spring, Merrill is preparing to spend much, if not all, of his time in the outfield.
“Jackson is a versatile player, and clearly, I think, he’s expressed his openness to looking to compete. I know he has to me and my staff,” Shildt said. “He just wants to get on the field and play in the big leagues. So, I know he’s ready to do that.”
Merrill, recently rated baseball’s No. 23 prospect by The Athletic’s Keith Law, spent his offseason working at shortstop, second base, left field and center field. He has limited experience in left — he made five starts there in Double A last season — and no professional experience in center. The Padres, meanwhile, believe he has the athleticism and aptitude to learn new positions while adjusting to the highest level of the sport.
Jackson Merrill was asked how working in the outfield has gone for him so far: pic.twitter.com/mOUdN0gkOX
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 13, 2024
Despite what is described as Merrill’s uncommon maturity, there is at least a hint of desperation to such belief. FanGraphs estimates the Padres are less than $22 million from Major League Baseball’s luxury-tax threshold, the front office would prefer to enter the season with some buffer room below that level, and the roster also lacks veteran starting-pitching depth. Profar, who is returning on a one-year, $1 million agreement, does not project to be much more than a fourth outfielder and bench bat. Club officials say the veteran’s signing does not change the likelihood that Merrill will be given a good chance to win an Opening Day job and perhaps even regular playing time.
“I feel like I’ve been given a pretty good opportunity to come and compete for a job anywhere on the field,” Merrill said. “I’ve done everything I possibly can this offseason to be prepared and ready to go.”
Merrill did not post overwhelming numbers in 2023, when he logged a .277/.326/.444 slash line between High-A Fort Wayne and Double-A San Antonio. But a slow start was at least partly explained by health issues, including a bout with nausea that prompted Merrill’s removal from an early-season game. Merrill rounded into form by midsummer, prompting the Padres to promote him to San Antonio in July.
A little more than a month later, Merrill received his first professional start in left field. The Padres, before fading from playoff contention, discussed the idea of calling the prospect up in hopes of a late-season boost. That call never came, but Merrill received a few more looks in the outfield as the organization continued to weigh his eventual fit on an infielder-heavy roster.
“They told me just kind of, ‘You’re going to start working at other positions,’” Merrill said. “They told me, ‘You’re not going to move from short, though. Short’s still going to be your spot; that’s where you’re going to play most of the time, but we want to get you more reps in the outfield, more reps at second base, more reps someplace else so you can help the team in the future at different spots.’
“I hadn’t changed from short since I got drafted, so I guess I wasn’t expecting it in the moment. But when I got told, I wasn’t against it at all. I was like, let’s do it. Let’s get more adjusted for other positions. I’m in for it.”
Most in the organization think Merrill has the ability to stick at shortstop, but he is not currently considered a stronger defender at the position than returning starter Xander Bogaerts or utility Gold Glove Award winner Ha-Seong Kim. Kim again figures to spend most of his time at second base, while natural second baseman Jake Cronenworth again figures to spend most of his time at first base.
Ha-Seong Kim won a Gold Glove award as a utility player last season, when he played 106 games at second base. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
There is less potential for an awkward alignment in the outfield, where Platinum Glove winner Tatis represents the only sure thing. Azocar, 27, is a strong defender with a career .633 OPS. Profar is a savvy 30-year-old coming off a season worth minus-2.0 FanGraphs WAR. Merrill’s fellow non-roster invitees include minor-league signees Bryce Johnson, Óscar Merdcado and Cal Mitchell, as well as center-field prospect Jakob Marsee.
Marsee has yet to appear on public top 100 prospect lists. The 22-year-old was named MVP of the 2023 Arizona Fall League, where scouts panned the overall quality of pitching as some of the worst they had seen in the league’s history. But, like Merrill, Marsee hits from the left side and will receive ample opportunity to earn a spot on a roster in need of lefty bats.
“We’re not going to … hurt their development process for a need basis. We won’t do that at all,” Preller said of the organization’s upper-level prospects in camp. “We’ll make sure that if they’re not ready, then they go and continue to develop. … Sometimes spring training’s not the best time to evaluate, but I think we know those guys well, we kind of know where they’re at and we’ll weigh that out in terms of where they’re at, the ability to help the team. But I think coming into camp, yeah, we’re open-minded.”
The Padres, as currently constructed, have to be. They continue to field strong trade interest in Kim, who is entering a contract year and whose possible departure would open an infield spot for Merrill.
“You’re always going to listen on any player when anybody calls, but it wasn’t something we were pushing in any way,” Preller said. “I think most likely, if we’re going to play well, it’s Ha-Seong Kim in the middle of the diamond for us playing like he’s capable of playing.”
And it could very well be with another young shortstop surfacing before his 21st birthday — potentially, in this case, at multiple positions. Merrill, now in his second big-league camp, has spent significant time in the offseason and early in his second big-league camp shagging fly balls during batting practice. Soon, the increase in game-like repetitions could prove useful.
“I feel like I’m a little bit more comfortable this year,” Merrill said. “Last year was kind of like an adjustment period — never kind of been around the (big-league) guys that much, so it was kind of cool to just come and learn and watch. But this year, I feel like it’s going to be a part of the team, don’t be too quiet, be myself and see how I fit in.”
(Top photo of Merrill: John E. Moore III / Getty Images)
