Center Fielder Jackson Merrill was activated from the concussion-related IL, according to an announcement by the roads. Outside Brandon Lockridge was selected in a corresponding move to the minors.

Merrill initially went on the shelf after being hit by a hard label Kettle Mars If you are trying to steal the second base. It was his second trip to the injured list of the year after missed a month as a hamstring tension, but this one fortunately only needed minimal absence. Merrill is just a week after being brought to the boards, thanks to the nature of the concussion-related IL, which has a minimum stay of just seven days to encourage players and clubs to be more proactive in using it.

When it is healthy, Merrill has more or less followed up his startling rookie season with an exact replica. Over 44 games this year he cut 0.304/.349/.474 with a WRC+ of 131. He strikes a little more than last year (22.0%), but also runs more frequently (6.5%) to go with his five homers and ten doubles. Merrill’s return to action should give a big boost to a road -res team that scrambled a little while he trusted Tyler wade and Bryce Johnson to deal with the midfield in his absence. While they managed to score more than 4.5 runs per game during Merrill’s time away from the club, they dropped three of four in an important series against the Dodgers and lost four of their last six games overall.

It may seem like a fairly minor slide, but in a very disputed NL playoffs, it was enough to put them half a game out of the last wildlife card and five games behind the Dodgers in the NL -West. With the trading season just around the corner, the next few weeks of play will be crucial for clubs on the bubble of the play -off game like San Diego. Add merrill back to the middle of the range Fernando Tate Jr. and Manny Machado Must go a long way to strengthen the offense enough to help wear a beleaguered site staff, to say nothing about what Merrill’s strong glove in midfield can do for the prevention of roads, after allowing 30 runs in seven games last week.

Lockridge leaves for the grid to make room for Merrill. The 28-year-old man made his Big League debut with San Diego last season and made it in 59 total matches, although he cut an ominous .210/.248/.280 (50 WRC+) to this point in his MLB career. He was mainly used as a definite replacement and squeeze-runner thanks to his impressive speed, and in the role he did fairly well with a 10-11 record on the Basepaths and +3 career-outs above the average in the outfield. He will go back to Triple-A and serve as a depth for the bank of the roads that is moving forward.