Padres pregame: Will Wagner replaces Jackson Merrill (ankle) on roster

Infielder Will Wagner is replacing center fielder Jackson Merrill (ankle) on the Padres’ active roster. He was called up before Sunday’s 1:10 p.m. start against the Dodgers (Padres.TV), but is not in the lineup for the series finale.

Sunday starters. pic.twitter.com/RtBOpadUJn

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 24, 2025

The left-handed-hitting Wagner was hitting .270/.333/.405 in 17 games with Triple-A El Paso. He has seen time this year at third, first and second base, but he does not have a professional inning in the outfield.

Wagner has, however, recently taken some fly balls in the outfield, “just messing around.”

“Not really sure what to expect,” Wagner said Sunday morning in the home clubhouse at Petco Park. “Just being ready for anything.”

The Padres acquired Wagner from the Blue Jays on a busy trade deadline day, sending out minor league catcher Brandon Valenzuela in a swap that added an infielder with big-league time to the 40-man roster.

The son of Hall-of-Fame closer Billy Wagner, the 27-year-old Wagner is a .265/.336/.362 hitter across 218 big league appearances dating back to last year with the Blue Jays. He was hitting .237/.336/.298 in 40 games this year at the time of the trade.

It remains to be seen how much Wagner will be used before Merrill returns, presumably this weekend in Minnesota.

Merrill made his first appearance on the field during pregame work Sunday, although that was simply to walk barefoot in the grass in center field while Michael King threw a three-inning simulated game (44 pitches). Merrill was placed on the injured list shortly before Saturday’s first pitch after spending all week on the shelf.

The lineup has been largely set in Merrill’s absence, especially against right-handers like the Padres will face on Sunday in Yoshinobu Yamamoto:

Ramón Laureano (.906 OPS) is in center field and batting seventh, Gavin Sheets (.754 OPS) is in left field and batting sixth and Ryan O’Hearn (.843 OPS) is the clean-up hitter, this time as the DH as Luis Arraez is at first base.

Elias Díaz will catch Nick Pivetta as he has all season.

Here is how the Dodgers, again a game behind the Padres in the NL West, will line up as they look to avoid the sweep:

Today’s #Dodgers lineup at Padres: pic.twitter.com/6uXt8p4rWC

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 24, 2025

Sunday’s pitching matchup

Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-8, 2.90 ERA)

He allowed five runs in three innings of last year’s Game 1 of the NLDS and then earned the win in Game 5 with five shutout innings. Yamamoto also faced the Padres once this season, allowing three runs in 6⅓ innings in a loss in June. Yamamoto has lost his last two starts, both on the road at Anaheim (4⅔ IP, 6 ER) and at Coors Field (7 IP, 3 ER).

Here is how Yamamoto has fared against current Padres in the regular season:

Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (12-4, 2.87 ERA)

He began the weekend leading the NL with 6.2 hits per nine innings, well below his career average (8.3). Pivetta has allowed one earned run or less in eight of his last 10 starts (1.73 ERA), going 6-2 personally over that stretch. Pivetta allowed five runs — four earned — in four innings in a loss to the Dodgers in June.

Here is how Pivetta has fared against current Dodgers: