How Long Will Jackson Merrill Be Out for Padres?

The San Diego Padres have placed Jackson Merrill on the injured list in a move that started as merely precautionary for hamstring tightness, but is now requiring some more time to heal.

The superstar is on the 10-day IL, but manager Mike Shildt doesn't seem too concerned with Merrill's prognosis.

“The good news is, at the moment, it doesn’t appear to be anything overly serious,” said Shildt. “There wasn’t a traumatic event that caused it. There was some tightness that clearly is real. He’s working really diligently, as you would expect, to get treatment.

“We just felt like it was going to be close to the 10 days -- right at that mark. Instead of playing [one player] short … just go ahead and get it done.”

As far as eligibility goes, Merrill can return April 18 to start the series against the Houston Astros. Shildt sounds confident that this hamstring hiccup won't require more IL time than the minimum.

As for who will take the place of the 21-year-old, Shildt said it may depend more on pitching matchups.

“You could expect to see [Brandon] Lock[ridge] stay in center field,” Shildt said. “And then, we’ll just play the game as we see it [in left field], relative to righties and lefties.”

Lockridge is the only other active center fielder on the roster at the moment. Jose Iglesias made his first career start in left field Tuesday to add to the potential depth needed in Merrill's absence.

Wednesday marked one week since Merrill signed a nine-year, $135 million contract extension to stay locked into San Diego until 2034. It's been a whirlwind of emotions for the All-Star, but this minor setback early in the season shouldn't affect what should be a phenomenal year two.

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