Padres Extend Jackson Merrill

The Padres announced that they have signed star outfielder Jackson Merrill to a nine-year contract extension that runs through 2034 with a club option for 2035. Reportedly, it guarantees the star $135MM, per Robert Murray of Fansided. There are plate appearance escalators that can push it to $165MM, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic. MLBTR has learned the details on those escalators: each time Merrill gets to 500 plate appearances in a season, he adds $1MM to his future salaries for the 2030-2034 s