WASHINGTON — In the summer of 2022, James Wood knew all the trade rumors. So did close friend and A-ball teammate Jackson Merrill.
As 19-year-old standouts in the San Diego Padres organization, they tracked the front office’s reported pursuits through social media. The names of established stars kept coming up, including one in particular. The two teenagers figured, even if they tried not to discuss it, that at least one of them could soon be moved.
“We were smart enough to know what could happen or what might happen,” Merrill said.
When the trade deadline neared that Aug. 2, Wood and Merrill were on separate buses bound for Visalia, Calif., the site of an upcoming road series for the Lake Elsinore Storm. Then news broke that the Padres had reached an agreement to acquire Juan Soto in one of the biggest deals in deadline history — and that Wood was a centerpiece of the Washington Nationals’ return.
On one bus, Merrill grappled with the imminent departure of someone he had known since they played on the same 14-and-under travel ball team. “Yeah, it sucked,” Merrill said. Meanwhile, Wood struggled to process much of anything.
“I can’t even remember,” Wood said. “I don’t even know if I got off the bus.”
Tuesday afternoon at Nationals Park, they could recall such memories through a more celebratory lens. The two rookies were about to share a big-league field for the first time, marking a shared culmination of their journeys from the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to the majors. Hours later, they again and at least temporarily found themselves headed in different directions as Merrill’s Padres prevailed over Wood’s Nationals, 4-0.
Robert Suarez strikes out James Wood to lock down a Padres win! pic.twitter.com/4g9X0vybML
— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) July 24, 2024
A week before another trade deadline, the Padres are 53-50 and in a virtual tie for the National League’s final wild-card spot. They fully intend to add major-league pieces by next week’s trade deadline, although the next handful of games could help determine their precise level of aggressiveness. Washington, meanwhile, is 47-54 and well-positioned to entertain offers for the likes of Jesse Winker and Kyle Finnegan. The Nationals have demonstrated they are young, promising and not quite ready to contend.
Yet both teams can focus their hope in distinct ways — the Padres toward the remainder of this season and a shot at the playoffs; the Nationals toward the future beyond 2024. In each case, a 21-year-old outfielder is a prominent reason.
Merrill, a native of Severna Park, Md., rose late on 2021 draft boards and wound up as the Padres’ first-round pick. Wood, from Olney, Md., slipped after an underwhelming spring and was scooped up by San Diego a round later. Now, Merrill already is an All-Star center fielder, a position he hadn’t played before February. The 6-foot-7 Wood made his big-league debut July 1 and has impressed with his combination of physicality and skills.
To hear both players tell it, neither has changed his style significantly since they met seven years ago.
“Just easy actions is how he is, always,” Merrill said. “He’s not gonna swing out of his shoes. He uses his size to his advantage.”
“When he was young, his glove really stood out,” Wood said. “(On offense), a lot of contact and he always had the bat to ball.”
Tuesday night reaffirmed the early scouting reports. Wood, who cranked an opposite-field homer in the Nationals’ previous game, lined out to left field in the bottom of the second at 106.1 mph. (“He’s always had oppo juice,” Merrill said before the game.) A half-inning later, Merrill pulled his hands in and pulled a single to right field. In the top of the sixth, Merrill did it again with an RBI single.
“It’s very valuable to have contact hitters,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said.
Jackson Merrill’s RBI single
Jackson Merrill singles on a line drive to right field scoring Manny Machado, increasing the Padres’ lead to 3-0 in the top of the 6th
Padres @ Nationals#LetsGoPadres | July 23, 2024 pic.twitter.com/OngfSS47wj
— San Diego Strong (@PadresStrong) July 24, 2024
San Diego benefited from resounding contact in the top of the fifth, when All-Stars Luis Arraez and Jurickson Profar clubbed back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches from rookie starter DJ Herz. Arraez’s homer came a few pitches after he had his bat knocked out of his hands on a high-and-tight fastball. The sequence was a testament to a uniquely gifted hitter who has played through lingering discomfort since he jammed his left thumb in late June.
“I love to play,” Arraez said. “I love my job. And then I love my team. I just want to do the little things to win.”
The Padres, league sources said, continue to inquire about both hitters and pitchers ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Their interest in the former might have something to do with Fernando Tatis Jr.’s uncertain timeline (and a possible desire for insurance in case Arraez reaggravates his thumb injury). Their need for pitchers is well-known.
Of course, Tuesday’s performance was plenty encouraging. Randy Vásquez, a 25-year-old rookie, delivered his first career start consisting of six scoreless innings. Padres starters have combined for a 0.69 ERA in the team’s first four games since the All-Star break. Three high-leverage relievers secured the shutout, as Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada and Robert Suarez each threw a scoreless inning.
But the Padres continue to need more bullpen depth and rotation reinforcements; they do not have a fifth starter named for this weekend’s series against the first-place Baltimore Orioles. The Nationals are among the teams that can offer relief help, with such trade candidates as Finnegan, Derek Law and Dylan Floro.
So, like Wood and Merrill in 2022, more than a few Padres prospects surely are feeling a bit uneasy this week. It can be an unforgiving business. And two rookies’ current stations, at opposite ends of the country, are a reminder that opportunity exists across 30 different organizations.
Sometimes, separation can make the journey even more fulfilling.
“Just proud of him,” Merrill said. “It’s sick to watch him play.”
“It’s kind of just like how you draw it all up,” Wood said. “It’s a lot of fun seeing everything he’s doing.”
(Photo of Jackson Merrill: Frank Jansky / Icon Sportswire via Associated Press)