MLB Player News

Merrill and the Padres agreed Wednesday on a nine-year, $135 million contract extension, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Per Murray, the nine-year deal can max out at $165 million if Merrill reaches 500 plate appearances in every season of the contract and also includes a $30 million club option for the 2035 season that can be converted to a player option. The 21-year-old Merrill was rewarded with the lavish deal after earning an All-Star nod and Silver Slugger Award while finishing second in the National League Rookie of the Year Award balloting in 2024, when he slashed .292/.326/.500 with 24 home runs, 16 stolen bases, 90 RBI and 77 runs in 593 plate appearances. He's gotten off to a strong start through the Padres' first six games of 2025, going 8-for-20 with a home run and a 2:3 BB:K.

Dunn started in left field and went 0-for-3 in Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Texas.

Dunn made his second start of the season -- the previous one was in center field. Cincinnati manager Terry Francona shuffled the lineup to account for injuries and rest days, resulting in the start for Dunn, who is normally a fourth or fifth outfielder. He's 1-for-7 with two strikeouts so far this season.

Candelario started at first base and went 0-for-3 in Tuesday's 1-0 loss to the Rangers.

Candelario made his first start of the season at first base, as Christian Encarnacion-Strand, the club's primary first baseman, was held out after getting plunked on the hand in Monday's game. Candelario has now started at both corner infield spots and DH through the first five games. That will be the pattern until the Reds get back some injured players. Once outfielder Austin Hays is ready, Gavin Lux, who is filling in for Hays in left field, will be free to play third or DH. There's also the case of Spencer Steer, who is limited to DH until a balky shoulder allows him to play the field (first base, third base or outfield).

Suarez went 1-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Yankees.

Suarez, who was named the NL Player of the Week for his four home runs the previous week, bailed out the Diamondbacks in the eighth inning when he launched a grand slam to give Arizona the lead. The slugging third baseman now has five hits, all homers, this season. Suarez's 11 RBI are tied for the league lead with Aaron Judge and Kyle Tucker.

Martinez threw a scoreless and hitless eighth inning while striking out three to earn a hold in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Yankees.

It was a dominant display by the right-handed Martinez, who came on the face the heart of New York's order, which included two righty hitters among three scheduled batters . He fanned Aaron Judge with a splitter and then punched out Jazz Chisholm and Anthony Volpe on 101-mph fastballs. The left-handed A.J. Puk followed, conveniently with three lefties due up, to convert Arizona's first save opportunity of the season. While that sequence may suggest Puk is the closer, manager Torey Lovullo still hasn't named one, and his late-game deployment was all about matchups, particularly having Martinez pitch to Judge. Martinez has allowed two hits and struck out five over 2.2 scoreless innings (three appearances) so far this season.

Sale (0-1) was charged with the loss Tuesday against the Dodgers after giving up three runs on four hits and no walks across five-plus innings. He struck out five.

The veteran left-hander was dominant through five frames with just a single and two hit batsmen allowed, but three straight hits to start the sixth inning, including a two-run homer by Mookie Betts, resulted in three runs and soured the performance. Sale has now surrendered three runs over five frames in each of his first two outings of the season, which is an underwhelming start to 2025 for the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.

Williams allowed three runs on 10 hits and struck out three over five innings Tuesday against Toronto. He did not factor into the decision.

Williams surrendered all three runs in the third on a collection of five singles from the Blue Jays. He did not allow an extra-base hit and has managed to make 16 consecutive starts allowing three runs or fewer dating back to the end of the 2023 season. Williams may have a hard time extending that streak his next time out, as he's lined up to face the Dodgers next week.

Scott didn't allow a baserunner or strike out a batter in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Tuesday versus Atlanta.

Facing the heart of the Atlanta lineup with a 3-1 advantage, Scott entered in the ninth inning Tuesday and induced three groundball outs on just 10 pitches. The clean performance ended a stretch of three straight appearances in which the left-hander allowed a run. Scott remains the favorite for save chances in Los Angeles and now leads the club with two, but Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia also have one apiece.

Betts went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer during Tuesday's 3-1 win against Atlanta.

The shortstop's throwing error during the second inning gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead, but he redeemed himself with a 369-foot shot to left field in the sixth. Betts has a hit in all four of the games he's appeared in so far this season, going 6-for-16 with three home runs, six RBI and six runs scored.

Abrams went 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI, a run and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to the Blue Jays.

Abrams doubled his early-season hit total and swiped his second bag of the year. He now has three extra-base hits in his last two games and bumped his batting average up to .286 after Tuesday's strong performance.