Two of the top teams in a competitive NL West signed franchise stars to contract extensions on Wednesday. The San Diego Padres extended 21-year-old outfielder Jackson Merrill, and the Arizona Diamondbacks extended infielder Ketel Marte. 

The Padres have yet to lose in the young 2025 season, winning their first seven games. They added on to their good fortune keeping outfielder Jackson Merrill in the organization on a nine-year, $135 million contract. Merrill has already been a key contributor to the Padres success this season, batting .417 across seven games. 

In 2021, Merrill was drafted by the Padres with the 27th overall pick. Since debuting at the beginning of last season, Merrill has hit the ground running, scooping up his first All-Star selection, winning a Silver Slugger, and finishing second in the Rookie of the Year race. Some may recall that even after Paul Skenes’ dominant rookie campaign, Merrill still made the race close, leading many to wonder if he would have won the award if Skenes wasn’t in the running for it. Regardless, signing Merrill to this long of an extension guarantees that the Padres will profit from Merrill’s prime years.

Ketel Marte and the Diamondbacks reached an agreement on a contract extension signed on Wednesday that will keep Marte in the desert through 2031. The extension comes off the back of another extension signed by Marte in 2022. This deal, however, is worth a reported $116.5 million with $46 million being deferred. 

Marte has established himself as a top second baseman in baseball posting a .285/.356/.496 slash line with 135 home runs and 448 RBI since becoming a full-time starter in 2018. Last season was his best season to date. He was named an All-Star starter, won the Silver Slugger, and finished third in the NL MVP race. After being very active in the free agent market last season and trying to compete with the super team in Los Angeles, extending Marte not only keeps him in the desert but also frees up some money for the Diamondbacks to remain active in the market.