Great job by the Padres to lock up emerging superstar Jackson Merrill to a $135 million, nine-year deal. 

In 2022, before the Padres traded for Juan Soto by giving up C.J. Abrams, Mackenzie Gore, James Wood, and two other promising players, the team was actively pursuing Shohei Ohtani. There were even discussions involving Merrill in a trade for Ohtani with the Angels. It is uncertain if Merrill would have been traded had the deal gone through, as it’s unlikely that a player from Class-A Lake Elsinore would have been considered untouchable in negotiations for Ohtani.

Considering the Padres’ 7-0 start, cross Dylan Cease off the trade list, however. Tough to see the Padres selling.

Kurt Ainsworth, the co-founder and CEO of Marucci Sports, mentioned on our baseball podcast, “The Show,” that he anticipates players from all teams trying out the torpedo bat. Reports suggest that half of the bat orders received by Marucci Sports are now for the torpedo bat model.