Jackson Merrill, Kristian Campbell Extensions Set Financial Precedent for Cubs Youngsters
The offseason may be over, but teams are still negotiating with their young stars to make sure they have talent locked down for the foreseeable future. The Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres have both extended players this week, prompting discussion of which teams and players will follow.
National League Rookie of the Year runner-up Jackson Merrill has been the subject of extension rumors for quite some time, finally coming to a deal early Wednesday morning. The center fielder agreed to a nine-year contract worth $135 million, a value considered a steal for the Padres. San Diego president and GM A.J. Preller is only paying $15 million a year for one of the best young outfielders in baseball, a star in the making who posted a 132 wRC+ with 5.6 fWAR last season. Many have compared this deal to those for Jackson Chourio and Corbin Carroll.
Merrill wasn’t the only potential superstar who got a new deal, as Craig Breslow inked Kristian Campbell to an eight-year extension after just a handful of big league games. Campbell will earn $60 million over those eight years, valuing it at an AAV of $7.5 million, but there are two club options that can bring the possible value to $100 million over 10 years. Guaranteeing a decade of inexpensive control for one of the best prospects in baseball gives the fans a reason to be excited while giving the Red Sox tremendous potential value with low risk.
Campbell’s deal had reportedly been in the works for several days, with Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com mentioning on Saturday that the sides had entered negotiations. He now has financial security, and the Red Sox have a potential difference-maker under very reasonable control through his age-32 season. This deal came two days after Boston locked up Garrett Crochet, the young starting pitcher they acquired from the White Sox in December. There’s a lot more risk in a six-year, $170 million contract for a guy who’s only been a starter for one season, but it could work out incredibly well if he maintains his Cy Young-caliber performance
While these deals may not directly impact the Cubs, they give the front office a good template for possible extensions with their own rising stars. As we discussed last month, Pete Crow-Armstrong should be at the top of Jed Hoyer’s list of players to lock up long-term. Whether he’s making an impossible catch in center field or manufacturing an in-the-park home run, Crow-Armstrong is one of the most electric players in baseball and will put butts in the seats.
Merrill has more value than PCA, but a 10-year deal that gives the young outfielder $120 million doesn’t feel unrealistic. Even if the bat never develops beyond league average, it’s worth $12 million in AAV for Gold Glove defense and elite speed. The Campbell deal should have Jed Hoyer on the phone with Matt Shaw‘s agent before Friday’s home opener. Everyone has been bashing the Ricketts family for not giving out large contracts, and rightfully so, but we’ve seen how team leadership is willing to green-light reasonable extensions.
Being able to secure Shaw’s services for $60 million over eight years or $100 million for 10 is something the Cubs could easily do. It’s hardly even a gamble when you consider how much more it would cost to bring in a free agent third baseman. And since we’re on the topic of extensions, the Cubs should work out a deal to keep Kyle Tucker in town for a few more years. That will cost a great deal more than both of the other deals we’ve referenced combined, but Tucker has been a top-10 hitter in baseball over the last five years and is only 28 years old.
Tucker said soon after the Cubs acquired him that he was willing to listen to offers, though it’s hard to imagine him forgoing free agency for less than half a billion dollars. Bruce Levine seemed to be hinting at possible talks on the extension front and mentioned on Marquee that he thinks a deal would “start with a four” and be around 10 years, but that feels light after Juan Soto got nearly $800 million from the Mets.
Kyle Tucker said at the Cub Convention he was open to any offers by the team during the up coming season about a contract extension. “ We haven’t had any discussions yet, but we will see.” He said at the time.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) April 2, 2025
While Shaw and PCA still have several years of club control remaining on their rookie deals, Tucker is an established superstar the likes of which the Cubs haven’t seen since Kris Bryant‘s first few seasons. The Cubs have shown a decided lack of willingness to shop at the high end of free agency and they’ve also avoided long-term extensions for quite a while now. Maybe Tom Ricketts expressing regret over letting Bryce Harper get away means the thinking has changed a bit.
Tom Ricketts when asked about what move that “didn’t happen, but almost did” and that he would “still kind of think about”
His answer??
Bryce Harper. pic.twitter.com/DdOyZmCxd4
— ?️? (@blakecowellx) March 20, 2025
As nice as it would be to extend Shaw and Crow-Armstrong, failing to cut a huge check to keep Tucker on the North Side well into the future could come back to haunt them in a big way.
