Padres Place Jackson Merrill on Concussion IL Before Diamondbacks Finale

Jun 14, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; A general view as members of the San Diego Padres react after outfielder Jackson Merrill (3) is injured sliding into second base in the seventh inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are placing superstar Jackson Merrill on the injured list with a concussion, per the San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee. Trenton Brooks will take his place on the active roster.

The 22-year-old had to leave Saturday's contest early after being tagged out sliding head-first to second base. Merrill looked 'woozy' upon impact, per manager Mike Shildt, as Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte appeared to tag the center fielder on the front of his helmet.

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Trenton Brooks will take Jackson Merrill’s spot on active roster.
Merrill is headed to the concussion IL. https://t.co/i9r0LxZKc3

— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) June 15, 2025

Brooks doesn't have much experience in the outfield but is hitting .311/.411/.590 with a 1.001 OPS in Triple-A this season. He has 12 games of experience in The Show with the San Francisco Giants last summer, mostly at first base with a sole start as designated hitter.

As for Merrill, this is another significant blow that will sideline the superstar.

After a momentous month of April that began with him inking a nine-year, $135 million contract extension to remain in San Diego through his 20s, he was placed on the injured list less than a week later with hamstring complications.

Almost a month had passed before he would see the field again, but since his return, Merrill had been hitting .284 with a .749 OPS. These numbers are far from unproductive, but slowed down his .378 batting average in his first 10 games of the season.

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As Merrill prepares to miss some more time, the rest of his team will look to step up amid a stretch of the season where the bats seem to have gone cold. The Friars are currently 21st in the league in runs scored per game with 4.16.

The Padres are 3-7 in their last 10 games and have dropped their last three in a row. There is never an ideal time to lose a superstar for an extended period of time, but losing Merrill at this moment stings just a little more.

As San Diego will finish off their series in the desert and try to take a victory, they will travel down to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers for a four-game set starting Monday.

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