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PEORIA, Ariz. — San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt stopped just short of declaring that shortstop prospect Jackson Merrill has already locked down an everyday role in his outfield, even though it has become fairly obvious throughout camp. All he would say Tuesday is that the 20-year-old shortstop-turned-center fielder will be on the Padres’ season-opening trip to South Korea.

“He’s earned his way on the plane,” Shildt said shortly after watching Merrill hit an opposite-field home run off All-Star starter Zac Gallen. “He’s earned what’s coming after the plane.”

The Padres began spring training with only two outfielders on their 40-man roster and promised to give Merrill every opportunity to solidify a regular role, even though he has played in only 46 games above Class A.

Merrill, ESPN’s 12th-ranked prospect to begin the season, came up as a shortstop and began playing left field toward the tail end of the 2023 minor league season. His time this spring has come almost exclusively in center field, a position he had never played until training there this offseason. Scouts who have watched Merrill throughout spring training say he has handled himself well there, but what has really stood out to them is his bat.

Merrill has hit .343/.395/.600 through 38 Cactus League plate appearances, with several hard outs sprinkled in. His home run Tuesday was his second in as many days.

“I’m not being self-centered, but that’s what I should do,” Merrill said. “I should have a good AB, be ready to swing, be ready to hit. They come at you. [Gallen] came at me with a fastball, and I was ready to go. I’m not going to talk anything bad on his name — he’s a great pitcher — but I was ready to go at that point.”

A late-rising high school prospect out of Maryland, Merrill was drafted by the Padres with the 27th overall pick in 2021, then watched his elite bat-to-ball skills translate to the professional ranks. Merrill has hit .295/.347/.455 in 200 minor league games at three levels in the Padres’ system, though he has yet to reach Triple-A.

His age and lack of upper-level experience, not to mention his transition to a foreign position, made Merrill’s prospects for Opening Day seem like a long shot. But Merrill has produced — at a time when the Padres, who traded Trent Grisham and Juan Soto over the offseason, have a clear need. Soon, he’s expected to join Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones as the only players since 1974 to start in center field on Opening Day before turning 21.

Given that, Shildt was asked if Merrill had exceeded his expectations.

“No, Jackson has not exceeded my expectations,” Shildt said. “I don’t put a cap on players, including Jackson. This guy’s a special talent. I was pleased for him, it was fun to watch, but it was not surprising. This guy is a really good player.”

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L.A.’s Glasnow joins Snell on IL with similar injury

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L.A.'s Glasnow joins Snell on IL with similar injury

LOS ANGELES — Tyler Glasnow was put on the injured list Monday with what the Los Angeles Dodgers described as shoulder inflammation, joining fellow frontline starter Blake Snell, who has been sidelined by a similar injury.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Glasnow’s right shoulder is structurally sound but is also dealing with what Roberts called “overall body soreness.”

Glasnow gave up back-to-back homers in Sunday’s first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, then was removed from the game after experiencing discomfort while warming up for the second. Afterward, Glasnow expressed frustration at his constant string of injuries and speculated that his latest ailment might stem from the mechanical adjustments he made to improve the health of his elbow.

Glasnow sat out the 2½ months of last season — including the playoffs — with what was initially diagnosed as an elbow sprain, a big reason why the Dodgers were relegated to only three starting pitchers in their march toward a World Series title. Now, he is one of eight starting pitchers on the Dodgers’ injured list.

One of those arms, Tony Gonsolin, will be activated Wednesday to make his first major league start in 20 months. But the Dodgers are short enough on pitching that they’ll have to stage a bullpen game the day before.

“Pitching is certainly volatile,” said Roberts, who added journeyman right-hander Noah Davis to the roster in Glasnow’s place. “We experienced it last year and essentially every year. I think the thing that’s probably most disconcerting is the bullpen leading Major League Baseball in innings. When you’re talking about the long season, the starters are built up to go take those innings down. That’s sort of where my head is at as far as trying to make sure we don’t redline these guys in the pen.”

Dodgers relievers entered Monday’s series opener against the Miami Marlins having accumulated 121⅓ innings, 7⅔ more than the Chicago White Sox, who are already on a 122-loss pace.

Glasnow and Snell aren’t expected to be out for a prolonged period, but their timetables are uncertain. Clayton Kershaw could return before the end of May, but Shohei Ohtani might not serve as a two-way player until after the All-Star break. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki could temporarily assume a traditional five-day schedule, as opposed to the once-a-week routine they’ve been following, but the Dodgers have only four starting pitchers on their active roster.

Glasnow, 31, is in his 10th year in the big leagues but has never compiled more than 134 innings in a season, a mark he set last year. The Dodgers acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays and subsequently signed him to a five-year, $136.56 million extension in December 2023 with the thought that his injury issues might be behind him.

“Tyler said it — very frustrating,” Roberts said. We’re just trying to get to the bottom of it.”

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Altuve asks out of Astros’ top spot, then homers

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Altuve asks out of Astros' top spot, then homers

HOUSTON — Jose Altuve asked manager Joe Espada to move him out of the leadoff spot and into the second hole for the Houston Astros. The reason? He wanted more time to get to the dugout from left field.

Altuve hit a two-run homer in the Astros’ 8-5 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday while playing left in 2025 for the first time in his career after spending his first 14 MLB seasons at second base. “I just need like 10 more seconds,” he said.

The 34-year-old Altuve made the transition to the outfield this season after the trade of Kyle Tucker and the departure of Alex Bregman shook up Houston’s lineup.

Jeremy Peña batted in the leadoff spot for Monday night’s game and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Altuve didn’t suggest that Peña be the one to take his leadoff spot, and on Monday, he had two hits and three RBIs while batting second for the first time since 2023.

“I just told Joe that maybe he can hit me second some games at some point, and he did it today,” Altuve said. “I just need like that little extra time to come from left field, and he decided to put Jeremy [there].”

Peña is hitting .265 with three homers and 11 RBIs. He batted first in Sunday’s 7-3 win over Kansas City — with Altuve getting a day off — and had two hits and three RBIs. He added two more hits and scored twice Monday.

“I enjoy playing baseball,” Altuve said. “I love playing, especially with these guys. I like being in the lineup. In the end it doesn’t really matter if I play second or left, if I lead off or not. I just want to be in the lineup and help this team to win.”

Along with giving him a little extra time to get ready to bat, Altuve thinks the athletic Peña batting leadoff could boost a lineup that has struggled at times this season.

“Jeremy is one of those guys that has been playing really good for our team,” Altuve said. “He’s taking really good at-bats. He’s very explosive and dynamic on the bases, so when he gets on base a lot of things can happen. Maybe I can bunt him over so Yordan [Alvarez] can drive him in.”

Altuve is a nine-time All-Star. The 2017 AL MVP is hitting .282 with four homers and 12 RBIs this season.

Espada said that he and Altuve often share ideas about the team and that they had been talking about this as a possibility for a while before he made the move.

“He’s always looking for ways to get everyone involved, and he’s playing left field, comes in, maybe give him a little bit more time to get ready between at-bats, just a lot of things that went into this decision,” Espada said. “He’s been around, he knows himself better than anyone else here, so hopefully this could create some opportunities for everyone here, and we can score some runs.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Lightning’s Hagel leaves G4 loss after high hit

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Lightning's Hagel leaves G4 loss after high hit

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel left his team’s 4-2 loss to the host Florida Panthers in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday night after a high hit from defenseman Aaron Ekblad that wasn’t penalized.

With less than 9 minutes left in the second period, Hagel played the puck out of the Tampa Bay zone near the boards. Ekblad skated in on him and delivered a hit with his right forearm that made contact with Hagel’s head, shoving him down in the process.

The back of Hagel’s head hit the ice. He was pulled from the game for concussions concerns. Ekblad did not receive a penalty on the play.

The Lightning trailed the Panthers 1-0 at the time of the hit, but Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak scored two goals in 11 seconds after Hagel left the game to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead. When the teams returned for the third period, Hagel was not on the bench.

The Panthers rallied in the third, as Ekblad, Seth Jones and Carter Verhaeghe scored to give Florida a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 is in Tampa on Wednesday.

Game 4 saw Hagel return to the Tampa Bay lineup after he served a one-game suspension for interference on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2. The NHL ruled the Barkov wasn’t eligible to be hit and that Hagel made head contact with him. It was the first suspension of this career.

Hagel was one of the best two-way wingers in the league this season, with 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games for the Lightning.

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