Jackson Merrill's meteoric rise, which dates back to an outstanding 2024 rookie campaign, is temporarily being halted due to a hamstring injury. The All-Star center fielder is going on the 10-day injured list, per The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee.

“He appears to be walking fine, but his recovery is not progressing as quickly as hoped,” the beat writer posted on X. “Padres choosing caution for long season.” Merrill is batting .378 with three home runs and 10 RBIs through 10 games, continuing to exemplify eye-opening poise and skill in the early stages of his MLB career.

Replacing a terrific talent who is not even 22 years old yet is not plausible, but San Diego should possess the star power and depth to withstand his absence for what is hopefully a short period of time. Newcomer Jose Iglesias will play his first professional game in the outfield on Tuesday versus the Athletics, but the Padres could lean on a former playoffs hero to fill that post moving forward.

How the Padres might plan to get by without Jackson Merrill

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They are calling up Oscar Gonzalez from Triple-A El Paso, per Acee. The 27-year-old owns a .269 batting average through 145 MLB games and is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run in the 15th inning versus the Tampa Bay Rays in 2022, which pushed the Cleveland Guardians into the American League Division Series. A lack of plate discipline has kept Gonzalez away from The Show for a couple of years, but opportunity knocks in San Diego.

If he can showcase the impressive power that first intrigued Cleveland, the Dominican Republic native will make a fine fill-in for Jackson Merrill. And who knows, this stint could lead to an increased big-league role.

Hamstring injuries can obviously linger, so president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and manager Mike Shildt will not want to push the Silver Slugger harder than necessary. Merrill will try to get right while the Padres look to build on a splendid 9-2 start to the 2025 season.