Jackson Merrill hits 2-run homer hours after Padres sign him to $135 million, 9-year contract

SAN DIEGO (AP) — All-Star center fielder Jackson Merrill started paying immediate dividends on the $135 million, nine-year contract he and the San Diego Padres finalized on Wednesday morning.

A few hours after the ink dried on the contract that covers 2026-34, Merrill hit a two-run home run with two outs in the third inning to give the Padres a 4-0 lead over the Cleveland Guardians. Merrill took several steps, tossed his bat in the air and gestured with his right arm. He homered for the second straight game and has hit safely in all seven games this year.

The Padres won 5-2 for the first 7-0 start in their 57-year history.

It's been a big week so far for Merrill, who had a bobblehead night on Monday and then got the big deal on Wednesday.

“7-0 is all that matters,” Merrill said. “If we didn't win that game today, I would have been (mad).”

The Padres held a news conference 3 1/2 hours before first pitch.

“Besides talking all day, it felt like a normal day,” he said. “Came into the locker room right after the press conference and got locked in. It's my job.”

Merrill struck out leading off the second.

“Striking out first A-B, I was like, ‘Damn, damn. Is this how we’re going to go?' I had to come with something. I had to give the fans something," Merrill said.

Winning pitcher Dylan Cease, who was wearing a “Merrill Madness” T-shirt, joked that Merrill stole the spotlight on his start day.

“Anytime he has a home run it's not surprising. Feels about right for the script," Cease said.

“That was amazing. The right way how to celebrate his big contract,” right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. said. “Man, the future holds a lot for him.”

Tatis' $340 million, 14-year contract runs through 2033.

“He's a great player, great teammate, great guy to have around. Can't wait to play nine more years right next to him," Tatis said about Merrill.

Merrill had a sensational rookie season in 2024 and said several times he wanted to stay long term with the Padres.

“An opportunity to sign with the San Diego Padres is enough for me. But I also feel like there comes a line where you know your worth, you know your value," Merrill said at the pregame news conference. “Listen, I know there are contracts out there that are beyond absurd, there’s super amounts of money. But having a relationship with a real human being and a real team like I have here, you can’t beat that.”

Merrill, who turns 22 on April 19, was moved from shortstop to center field in spring training last year when the Padres had only two outfielders on their roster. He made the opening day roster and hit .292 with 24 homers, 90 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Skenes.

“The Padres were the first team that ever reached out to me, ever scouted me,” he said. “They believed in me from Day 1. They wanted me. It feels good to be wanted. I always felt they had a certain trust in me.”

Merrill gets a $10 million signing bonus, $1 million payable within 30 days of the contract's approval by Major League Baseball and $3 million on Jan. 15 in each of the next three years.

He gets salaries of $1 million in 2026, $6 million in 2027, $8 million in 2028, $10 million in 2029 and $20 million annually from 2030-34.

San Diego has a $21 million option for 2034 that would become a player option at the same salary if he finishes among the top five in MVP voting in any season from 2026-34.

His salary would escalate by $1 million for all remaining years for any season in which he has 500 or more plate appearances.

Merrill's option price would escalate by $1 million each time he finishes among the top 10 in MVP voting.

He also gets a hotel suite on road trips.

He has an $809,500 salary while in the major leagues this year after earning the $740,000 minimum last year and gaining $1,191,534 from the pre-arbitration bonus pool.

Merrill would have been eligible for arbitration after the 2026 season and for free agency after the 2029 World Series.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com

San Diego Padres second baseman Xander Bogaerts (2) celebrates with teammates right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., second from left, center fielder Jackson Merrill, second from right, and left fielder Gavin Sheets after the Padres defeated the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill, center, rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill, right, celebrates with teammate Manny Machado after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill watches his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill watches his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill watches his two-RBI single during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

BANGKOK (AP) — Search teams in Myanmar recovered more bodies from the ruins of buildings on Friday, a week after a massive earthquake killed more than 3,300 people, as the focus turns toward the urgent humanitarian needs in a country already devastated by a continuing civil war.

United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who is also the emergency relief coordinator, arrived Friday in Myanmar in an effort to spur action following the March 28 quake.

Ahead of the visit, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the international community to immediately step up funding for quake victims “to match the scale of this crisis,” and he urged unimpeded access to reach those in need.

“The earthquake has supercharged the suffering with the monsoon season just around the corner,” he said.

Myanmar's military and several key armed resistance groups have all declared ceasefires in the wake of the earthquake to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid.

But the U.N.'s Human Rights Office on Friday accused the military of continuing attacks, claiming there were more than 60 attacks after the earthquake, including 16 since the military announced a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday.

“I urge a halt to all military operations, and for the focus to be on assisting those impacted by the quake, as well as ensuring unhindered access to humanitarian organizations that are ready to support,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. “I hope this terrible tragedy can be a turning point for the country towards an inclusive political solution.”

Announcing its ceasefire, the military also said it would still take “necessary” measures against resistance groups, if they use the ceasefire to regroup, train or launch attacks, and the groups have said they reserved the right to defend themselves.

Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into a civil war.

The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis, with more than 3 million people displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million in need even before it hit, according to the United Nations.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military government, said the quake's death toll has reached 3,301, with 4,792 injured and about 221 missing, according to a report on state television MRTV. He is in Bangkok attending a summit meeting of leaders from the Bay of Bengal region.

It is a rare visit for the general, who usually restricts his few foreign trips to allies Russia and China. He and his government are shunned and sanctioned by Western nations for usurping power and their alleged human rights violations in repressing opposition and carrying out a brutal war.

Britain, which had already given $13 million to purchase emergency items like food, water and shelter, pledged an additional $6.5 million in funds to match an appeal from Myanmar's Disasters Emergency Committee, according to the U.K. Embassy in Yangon.

The World Food Program said so far it has reached 24,000 survivors, but was scaling up its efforts to assist 850,000 with food and cash assistance for one month.

Many international search and rescue teams are now on the scene, and eight medical crews from China, Thailand, Japan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Russia were operating in Naypyitaw, according to Myanmar's military-run government. Another five teams from India, Russia, Laos and Nepal and Singapore were helping in the Mandalay region, while teams from Russia, Malaysia and the ASEAN bloc of nations were assisting in the Sagaing region.

The Trump administration has pledged $2 million in emergency aid and sent a three-person team to assess how best to respond given drastic cuts to U.S. foreign assistance.

On Friday, five bodies were recovered from the rubble in the capital Naypyitaw and the second-largest city of Mandalay, near the epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake March 28, authorities said. The last reported rescue came Wednesday, some 125 hours after the quake struck, when a man was saved from the wreckage of a hotel in Mandalay.

The quake also shook neighboring Thailand, bringing down a high-rise under construction in Bangkok, where recovery work continued Friday. Overall, 22 people have been found dead and 35 injured in Bangkok, primarily from the construction site.

Associated Press Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

A Bhutan medical volunteer attends to a patient at their make-shift tent after last week's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo)

Patient are seen at a make-shift tent opened for medical care after last week's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo)

People work at temporary shelters for people displaced due to the earthquake, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo)

Bhutanese medical volunteers attend to a patient at a make-shift tent after last week's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo)

Russian medical volunteers give treatment to a patient in their make-shift tent opened as a medical center in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo)

Thai army soldiers lined up for their duty at site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, April, 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Morning joggers look at the at site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake, as Thai army soldiers lined up for their duty in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, April, 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A rescue office Amman Sutthirat talks to media at site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, April, 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A notice board in Thai language shows , center top, number of victims (103) Deceased (15), Injured (9) and Under Tracking (79) at site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, April, 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Russian medical volunteers gather near their make-shift tent opened as a medical center in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo)

A person watches at site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, April, 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)