San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill spoke about how he felt when the Padres sent former top prospect James Wood — with whom he had played youth baseball — to the Washington Nationals as part of a package for Juan Soto in 2022. “We all saw it, and we’re like, ‘Wow, wow, this is crazy,’” Merrill said. Wood is now playing for the Nationals at the MLB level, and is thriving in his first full season in the bigs.
