Jackson Merrill's Contract Extension Could Save Padres 'Hundreds of Millions' of Dollars

The ink hasn't even dried on San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill's new nine-year contract extension, yet it is already being celebrated as one of the best deals of the early season.

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller managed to secure an incredibly team-friendly deal with Merrill that will keep him under contract for a significant portion of his athletic prime.

Merrill is set to be a Padre until at least the age of 31, potentially 32 if the team exercises a 10th-year option, which, given his trajectory, seems likely at this point.

A whopping $135 million is the minimum that the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up will earn, coming out to an average annual value of $15 million.

There are incentives that may bring the total deal over $200 million, which could be close to where it concludes if he continues to perform well.

Former MLB general manager and longtime baseball analyst Jim Bowden wrote a story for The Athletic in which he ranked the Merrill deal as the best extension of the spring. 

"Therefore, conservatively speaking, this contract could save the Padres hundreds of millions if Merrill lives up to his potential," Bowden wrote on The Athletic.

"He belongs in the same conversation with (Vladimir) Guerrero and (Kyle) Tucker in terms of overall talent, ability and potential."