The San Diego Padres have reinstated Jackson Merrill from the 10-day injured list and recalled Sean Reynolds from Triple-A.
This move couldn’t come at a better time for the Padres, who will be overjoyed to see Jackson Merrill return to the lineup. His ability to play on both sides of the ball will help a struggling Padres team that has lost five of their last seven matchups.
Thus far in an injury-riddled season for San Diego, Merrill has played 91 games due to an ankle strain, hamstring strain, and a concussion earlier in the year. But when on the field, Merrill has produced. This season he’s accumulated 91 hits, nine home runs, 51 RBIs, while batting .261. Although these numbers aren’t quite as good as in his ninth place finish in MVP voting last year, Merrill will be able to provide San Diego with a spark as the NL West race heats up toward the end of the season.
At the moment, San Diego trails the Los Angeles Dodgers by two games for the division title. This of course could be the difference in playing a wild card series on the road or a division series at home. Luckily for San Diego, their remaining strength of schedule is calculated as the easiest in all of baseball. This includes seven games versus the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies, three games versus the White Sox, and a three game series against the Baltimore Orioles which begins tonight. Although the Dodgers will be tough to catch, Jackson Merrill will aid the Padres’ hopes at a NL West Division title as the playoffs approach.
