Padres Injury Update: Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth Nearing Return, Yu Darvish Making Progress

[Brandon Glick]

The San Diego Padres have done incredible work to keep the ship afloat as they deal with numerous early season injuries to their star players.

Joe Musgrove was ruled out for the season a long time ago following his Tommy John surgery, but the Padres have had to weather long-term injuries to Yu Darvish, Matt Waldron, Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill, and Sean Reynolds, among others. The good news is the franchise is due to get a number of those players back in San Diego in short order, including two offensive threats who should provide a serious boost to the lineup.

Jackson Merrill
According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Merrill's expected return date from his strained hamstring is May 5 against the New York Yankees. The outfielder has been out since April 6 — less than a week after inking his nine-year mega-extension worth $135 million — and only just began a rehab assignment this weekend, meaning that if all goes according to plan, Merrill will play just two games at Triple-A before facing major league pitching again.

That's obviously a very tight turnaround after a month-long hiatus, but Merrill is talented enough to make the quick return seamless. The 22-year-old was slashing .378/.415/.676 in ten games (41 plate appearances) prior to his injury, good for a whopping 200 wRC+. In his rookie season last year, he provided the Padres with 24 home runs and a 130 wRC+, all while providing excellent defense and stealing 16 bases. He was the 18th-most valuable player in the sport according to his 5.3 fWAR.

Considering how porous the Padres' offense has been outside of Fernando Tatis Jr. thus far, Merrill's (and Cronenworth's) impending return couldn't come at a better time.

Jake Cronenworth
Cronenworth won't make quite as speedy of a recovery as Merrill, though he isn't far behind. The Padres are targeting a May 9 return for him against the Colorado Rockies, meaning the team should get two of its most potent offensive threats back in the same week.

Cronenworth has been on the injured list since April 11 due to a non-displaced right rib fracture, though he's already back to taking live at-bats. In 12 games (44 plate appearances) prior to his injury, the second baseman was slashing .257/.409/.486 (158 wRC+), though his defense and baserunning left a lot to be desired. He's never posted a wRC+ higher than the 126 mark he earned as a rookie, so that scorching start may not be sustainable, but even a lesser version of Cronenworth would be worlds better than what Jose Iglesias (89 wRC+) has offered up in his absence.

Yu Darvish
Michael King (2.09 ERA) and Nick Pivetta (1.78 ERA) are doing one heck of a job holding down the fort atop the rotation, though with Dylan Cease struggling and Musgrove out for the season, the Padres could really use a triumphant return from Darvish right about now.

The 38-year-old righty has steadily declined in terms of his strikeout rate and underlying metrics since arriving in San Diego prior to the 2021 season, but he remains one of the best in the business at working deep into games and garnering quality starts. His 23.6% strikeout rate in 2024 was by far the lowest of his career, but he still generated a solid 4.08 FIP thanks to his ability to limit hard contact and walks.

The ETA for the Japanese starter remains some time in the next six weeks, though after throwing consecutive intensive bullpens with no setbacks, he's ready to start facing live hitters again. Assuming that goes well, he could be lined up for two or three rehab starts in short order, meaning that he could take the mound in San Diego before May is over.

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