An instructional Jackson Merrill story; Matt Waldron’s mindset; Xander Bogaerts’ extra work – San Diego Union-Tribune

Good morning,

Jackson Merrill is ready for the postseason.

“I’m just excited to play more,” he said yesterday. “I feel like 162 isn’t even enough.”

Before we discuss that, let’s talk about what he did at the end of the regular season.

And by that, I don’t mean how he hit .309 with nine doubles and four home runs in September.

That was a good finish, one that tied a bow pretty tightly on a season that could result in him being the Padres first Rookie of the year since Benito Santiago (1987) and also see him finish in the top 10 in NL MVP voting.

It has at this point been established Merrill is every bit as special as the Padres thought he was. Probably more.

But right now, let’s look at another aspect of that specialness.

Merrill talks about winning incessantly. His teammates marvel at his earnestness regarding the team dynamic. He is immersed in and obsessed with the Padres’ success.

That means now and in the future.

That was demonstrated again by something Merrill did Saturday.

“Damn right I went to instructs,” he said.

Yes, as the temperature climbed toward 110 degrees the morning after a night game at the end of his first big-league season, 21-year-old Jackson Merrill went to Peoria, Ariz., on his own to watch some of the youngest of the Padres’ minor-league prospects participate in the Instructional League.

“I care,” Merrill said. “It’s not just about the big leagues. … I’m just trying to go and learn who we’ve got down there and stay in touch. It’s hard during the year to keep up with those guys. I wanted to see what we’re working with.”

Merrill did not play Saturday night but was back in the lineup yesterday, going 1-for-3 with a walk and playing his 156th game (148th start) in center field.

He finished the season with a .292 average, 24 home runs, six triples and 31 doubles. It was the highest average among qualifying NL rookies and the most extra-base hits. His 5.2 WAR ranked seventh among all NL players.

“I’m just glad to finish the season healthy,” Merrill said. “I think my first year in the minors, I missed three months. (That) first year I broke my wrist. I missed the last month last year (and) missed a month at the beginning for sickness. So to play 156 and kind of get it in my system and get ready for years to come, that’s huge for me.”

Merrill chuckled at the mention of his being three years removed from high school.

“It’s like 141 more games than high school,” he said. “It’s wild. But I think the mental part of it was good for me to go through, kind of just grind, keep my head down, not complain, get in the  training room, stay consistent on my list, just do everything I possibly could to stay on the field. And I feel good too. I don’t feel any sign of weakness or anything. I feel good.”

Playoff picture

My game story (here) from the Padres’ 11-2 loss to the Diamondbacks explained what happened yesterday, what is happening today and what it all means for tomorrow.

In short, the Padres are awaiting either the Mets or Braves.

If the Mets sweep the Braves in their doubleheader today, it will be the Padres and Mets playing Tuesday night at Petco Park in Game 1 of their wild-card series. Otherwise, it will be the Braves coming to town.

The Diamondbacks are still alive, but they need one of the teams to win twice today. A split means both the Braves and Mets are in and the Diamondbacks’ season is finished.

Waldron’s mindset

Yesterday did not go great for Matt Waldron.

He took over for starter Martín Pérez in the fourth inning and gave up one run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings and two in the eighth.

But how Waldron did in one final game was sort of beside the point.

That he was brought back to pitch in the season finale was a tribute to what the Padres thought of his contribution this season.

“It worked out really well in the sense of Matty’s a big reason why we’re moving forward,” manager Mike Shildt said. “He was the guy that took innings, took the ball and pitched very successfully and fortified our rotation when the rotation was in flux with Joe (Musgrove) and Yu (Darvish on the injured list). And he did a tremendous job. So it was … good to get him back out there.”

Waldron was crucial in making sure the Padres did not sink as their ship was listing in the first half of the season. In a span of 36 games from May 28 to July 6, with both of the aforementioned starters out, the Padres had 15 quality starts. Waldron turned in seven of those. Over 14 starts from May 11 through July 24, his 2.76 ERA was fifth best in the major leagues.

“I greatly appreciate that,” Waldron said of the call-up to pitch Sunday. “I put in that effort, and I’m glad they recognized that. They didn’t have to do it. And the way this team’s playing, it’s impressive. To be around these guys, maybe I (can) learn some things and just feel a part of it in whatever way that is.”

Waldron traveled to San Diego with the Padres yesterday afternoon and is expected to remain with the team, though not on the active roster, in the postseason.

He spent the previous 5½ weeks in Triple-A after running into a bit of a physical and mental wall. His 142⅔ innings through 26 starts were more than Waldron had ever thrown professionally, and he seemed to be struggling with the consistency of his confidence in his knuckleball.

In his column from Saturday (here), Bryce Miller quoted Joe Musgrove talking about Waldron’s battle with himself.

“I feel like his biggest fault was not believing in himself enough,” Musgrove said.”Everybody in here believed in him more than he believed in himself. … I feel like he thought he wasn’t good enough or had to keep up with guys like Darvish and myself. And he was doing more than he needed to and more than anybody expected him do. We tried to stress that on him. ‘You belong here, man.’ I know he’s just a mentality switch away from being a really consistent starter.”

Waldron addressed his fluctuating confidence levels yesterday.

“I think that’s the name of the game,” he said. “It’s easy to do when you’re doing it. Believing in yourself is the million dollar answer, and that’s what I strive to do. … There were definitely a couple months that I really wish I could get back to where I was at then. It’s a big learning process. This game beats you down, and it’ll definitely put you on top of the world too. You’ve just got to know how to handle it. Some of these guys are the best at doing that. I’m trying to learn some of those things.”

Price of preparation

Xander Bogaerts was among the Padres regulars who did not play yesterday.

It was a much needed rest.

Bogaerts has been on the field before games, taking grounders and working on throws, as much as any player the past few weeks.

More than most, in fact. Certainly more than any veteran.

“A lot of days I don’t really want to be out there,” Bogaerts acknowledged Saturday. “But that’s what you sign up for. Well, I didn’t sign up for that. It does suck that some people have the ability to back off a little bit at this time of year. But how am I gonna back off? I don’t want to have (a lack of) confidence where I didn’t do anything.”

Bogaerts is getting the extra work in at shortstop, where he moved from second base on Sept. 10 when it was determined Ha-Seong Kim’s return from a shoulder injury was not imminent. (on Saturday, Kim was ruled out for the postseason.)

Bogaerts went 2-for-4 Saturday and finished the season by going 11-for-32 (.344) over his final nine games.

He felt every bit of it.

“My legs were so tired (Friday),” Bogaerts said. “I just notice in games my swings and things, it’s just like completely different. But it’s better to be prepared than not prepared. That’s the worst.”

Contributor

Tyler Wade started at third base in yesterday’s finale, same as he did in the season opener.

It was a symmetrical ending to his second full 162-game season in the major leagues.

“It’s meant everything to me,” Wade said of his first season with Padres. “This place genuinely feels like home to me. It starts with A.J. (Preller) and Shildty. Day 1, they brought me in and said, ‘You don’t need to be anybody else but Tyler Wade. That’s why we brought you here. We love who you are as a player.’ And that has never wavered through the whole year.

“A player like me, I’ve always felt in the organizations I’ve been with, they wanted me to do something different. (The Padres) brought me here to be me, and I think that’s why I’ve contributed so much this year.”

Wade finished the season with a .217/.285/.239 line that doesn’t reflect his value.

He started 38 games — at third (20), second (four), shortstop (10), left field (two), center (one) and right (one) — and appeared in another 52 as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement. The Padres were 22-16 in the games he started, and he drove in four go-ahead runs and had two game-winning RBIs. He finished third on the team with three bunt hits and tied for second with four sacrifice bunts. He stole eight bases in nine attempts.

Wade is among the most jocular players in the clubhouse and during games is a nearly constant source of inspiration and feedback in the dugout.

“He is such a genuinely good guy who really, really has the desire to win and is able to just go through the day-to-day talking to guys, bringing energy on the bench, being super intelligent, watching the game, talking the game,” said third base and infield coach Tim Leiper, who does defensive drills with Wade virtually every day. “He lends so much to the environment. It’s invaluable. His energy is infectious. He’s a good player. He’s guy you pull for when he’s out there. That’s infectious.”

Wade, 29, came up with the Yankees and was with them through 2021 before spending ’22 with the Angels and ‘23 with the A’s.

He spent the entire 60-game 2020 season and all of ‘21 in the big leagues with the Yankees. In every other season since his 2017 major league debut, he spent at least some time in Triple-A.

“His experience is great,” Leiper said. “Having seen the game from a lot of different perspectives, we benefit from the fact we have him now. In that role sometimes, it’s hard. You can go a few weeks without playing. And you have to realize when you go in, you can produce and help win games, which he does. Having an acknowledgment and acceptance of that is half the battle and you have to kind of grow into that.”

Wade, outfielder Brandon Lockridge and catcher Elías Díaz will almost certainly be on the 26-man wild-card series roster. Infielder Nick Ahmed seems a likely inclusion. And the Padres could also carry another position player, such as catcher Luis Campusano.

Most teams carry just 12 pitchers, rather than the maximum 13, for the best-of-three wild-card series. Some teams carry 11. The Padres went with 12 pitchers in ‘22.

Yuki’s contribution

Yuki Matsui might not be destined for the wild-card roster.

The team has myriad other left-handed options, and Matsui has struggled to consistently throw strikes and fool batters, especially in crucial spots such as those that arise in the postseason.

But after he pitched for the third time in four days and fifth time in the past 22 games, Shildt was pleased to be able to give Matsui his due.

“Yuki was a guy that has toted the mail for us and done a great job all year, been there all year,” Shildt said. “A little bit of a learning curve to come in, you know, relative to not only a new league but new country. And he has fit in beautifully. He’s done a great job. He’s got lefties, righties out, and he’s been a big part of our bullpen. He’s helped a lot.”

In his first season after signing a five-year, $28 million contract following his 10 seasons in Japan, the 28-year-old Matsui got the final out of the eighth inning yesterday to finish his rookie MLB campaign with a 3.73 ERA over 62⅔ innings.

His 64 appearances were second most on the team to closer Robert Suarez’s 65.

Just five of Matsui’s final 29 appearances came in high-leverage situations. And as the Padres played an abundance of close games while chasing a playoff spot, he did not pitch in any of their 14 games from Sept. 8 through 25.

Tidbits

• The Padres finished with 93 wins, the second most in team history and tied with the Brewers for fourth most in the major leagues this season behind the Dodgers (98), Phillies (95) and Yankees (94).
• Díaz hit his second double with the Padres. He is just 4-for-21 since joining the team, but his line drive to left field for the double was the ninth (of his 16 total) ball put in play with an exit velocity of 101 mph or harder.
• I wrote (here) about Luis Arraez winning a batting title for the third consecutive year.
• Here is the final update of my chart showing some of the key reasons the Padres made the postseason in 2024 after missing out by two games in last season:

All right, that’s it for me.

No game today. We will have plenty of coverage over the next couple days on our Padres page. But the next Padres Daily will be in your inbox (if you subscribe to it, which you should, since it’s free and has a lot of information) on Wednesday.

Originally Published: September 30, 2024 at 6:30 a.m.