The San Diego Padres locked up their star center fielder with a nine-year, $135 million contract earlier this week.
This is a contract well-deserved for Jackson Merrill.
The second-year phenom is coming off a season in which many believe he should have been the National League Rookie of the Year.
He slashed .292/.326/.500 with 24 home runs, 90 RBI, 16 stolen bases and 162 total hits last year. Per Baseball Savant, Merrill finished in the 94th percentile in xwOBA, 97th percentile in expected batting average and 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage.
In the field, Merrill was worth 11 Outs Above Average, which put him in the 97th percentile in that category. His arm strength and sprint speed were also well above the Major League average.
Needless to say, San Diego was right to lock up their young superstar long-term.
Merrill did put a partial no-trade clause in his contract, though.
The Detroit Tigers are among the teams on the no-trade clause for the 21-year-old.
As reported by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Tribune, “Merrill has a partial no-trade clause that excludes the Padres from sending him to eight teams, all of them in the American League Central and National League Central. According to two people close to him, he said he did not need full protection. He wanted to get a deal done.”
Merrill was not going to be traded anytime soon. The former first-round pick is going to stay in San Diego for the foreseeable future as he has the potential to win the MVP award in the future.
However, players get traded towards the end of their contract all the time. If a team is not in contention for the playoffs, they will not hesitate to trade a player that has one or two years left on their deal.
Detroit is just not going to be a team Merrill eventually plays for.
The good news is the Tigers will never have to face the All-Star when they play divisional opponents. He put every team from the American and National League Central on his no-trade clause.
As it stands right now, the Tigers have a few young players they could have the potential to sign to long-term deals.
Trey Sweeney, Colt Keith and Riley Greene are the position players that come to mind. Sweeney and Keith are both infielders while Greene plays the outfield.
Greene will play some center field, but his main position recently seems to be left field.
Could the Tigers use Merrill? Absolutely. He is the type of player that could fit into any lineup and make an impact. But Detroit has a lot of confidence in Greene and they still have their No. 2 prospect, Max Clark, waiting in the minor leagues.
The Tigers not being a dream destination for the Padres’ superstar is not a big deal.
