Jackson Merrill Injury: Closing in on return

Merrill (hamstring) could be activated from the 10-day injured list during the Padres' upcoming road trip that begins Friday in Pittsburgh, Marty Caswell of TheSportingTribune.com reports.

Merrill recently began taking live at-bats at San Diego's spring complex in Arizona, and manager Mike Shildt described him as being "towards the finish line" of his rehab, per MLB.com. Though Merrill may not be ready to play this weekend during the three-game series in Pittsburgh, a return next week in the Padres' three-game series in New York against the Yankees or during the three-game series in Colorado could be in the cards, depending on how his strained right hamstring responds during workouts.