Padres' Jackson Merril trashes Juan Soto after huge contract extension

Jackson Merrill didn't say it outright.

But he also didn't hide who he was talking about.

The San Diego Padres star centerfielder signed a nine-year, $135 million contract extension on Wednesday.

Afterward, he was asked about why he wanted to commit long-term to San Diego, and he chose to passively bring up Juan Soto, who very notably chose not to commit long-term to San Diego.

"I think just hearing the opportunity to sign with the San Diego Padres was enough for me," Merrill told reporters. "You can’t just sign for $700 million and expect everything to be perfect."

Soto, of course, is in the first year of a 15-year, $765 million pact with the New York Mets.

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To be fair to the Padres, Soto didn't even want to stay with the New York Yankees.

But on the bright side, San Diego has the face of its franchise for the next decade in Merrill to pair alongside Fernando Tatis Jr.

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