Merrill went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two total runs and two total RBI in a Cactus League win over Seattle on Thursday.

Merrill's third-inning two-run blast was one of eight long balls hit by San Diego in the 27-6 thrashing of the Mariners. It's been a strong spring so far for Merrill, who is slashing .333/.400/.778 with two homers and four RBI through eight games. He's locked in as the Padres' everyday center fielder and will look to rebound from a somewhat disappointing sophomore campaign during which he posted a .774 regular-season OPS (down from his rookie .826 mark) and missed nearly 50 games due to injuries.

Espinal went 2-for-2 with a pair of home runs and six RBI in Thursday's Cactus League loss to Cincinnati.

Espinal got the scoring started quietly in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, then produced much louder output with a solo homer in the third frame and a three-run blast in the fourth. He finished off his big contest with another sacrifice fly in the fifth. The veteran utility man is now slashing an absurd .625/.636/1.125 over seven games this spring. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested prior to Thursday's contest that Espinal is likely to make the team's Opening Day roster, and if that's indeed the case, he'll likely serve in a super-utility role similar to what Enrique Hernandez -- who will begin the campaign on the 60-day IL due to an elbow injury -- typically logs. With that being said, Espinal is a career .261 hitter with just 20 home runs across 579 regular-season contests, so his power display Thursday shouldn't lead to expectation that he's suddenly going to be a major source of homers.

Luzardo allowed two hits and no walks in three shutout innings during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Boston. He struck out five.

The hard-throwing southpaw appeared to be just about in midseason form during his spring debut, getting the velocity on his fastball as high as 98.5 mph. Luzardo is looking to build off an excellent first campaign with the Phillies a year ago, when he recorded a career-high 216 strikeouts over 183.2 regular-season innings and finished seventh in National League Cy Young voting.

Eflin (back) allowed one hit and one walk in two scoreless innings during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out three.

It was an impressive outing by Eflin, who made his first appearance in game action since undergoing back surgery last year. The 31-year-old right-hander even showcased some increased velocity, with his fastball topping out at 94 mph. If all continues to go smoothly during spring training, Eflin remains on track to dodge the injured list and be part of Baltimore's Opening Day rotation to begin 2026, per Jake Rill of MLB.com.

Mendez was optioned to Double-A San Antonio on Thursday.

Mendez made two appearances with the Padres during spring training, giving up six runs on five hits and four walks while striking out three batters over two innings. The right-handed pitcher is considered to be one of San Diego's top prospects, but he'll need some time in the team's minor-league system to refine his craft before potentially getting a shot with the major-league squad.

Song was removed from Thursday's Cactus League game against the Mariners with right oblique tightness, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Manager Craig Stammen said after Thursday's contest that Song's removal was precautionary, as the Padres didn't want to risk further damage to the 29-year-old's oblique, which he originally injured in January. He may take a break from Cactus League action for a day or two, but his Opening Day availability doesn't seem to be at risk.

Tolle allowed one hit and one walk while striking out seven over three innings of relief in Tuesday's spring game against the Yankees.

This was the best of three Grapefruit League outings for Tolle, who entered as a reliever and upped his pitch count reached 44 (28 strikes). It was his second straight relief outing, but he remains in the mix for a rotation spot along with Connelly Early and Johan Oviedo (the frontrunner). Red Sox manager Alex Cora was enthused by the performance and the results of Tolle's curveball, which along with his changeup, could make his fastball play better.

The Yankees optioned Hampton (elbow) to Double-A Somerset and resigned him to minor league camp Thursday.

Hampton underwent Tommy John surgery in February of 2025, which resulted in him not pitching for the whole season. As the 2026 season nears, the right-hander is still progressing for a possible return in May or June.

Buehler said Thursday that his right elbow stopped hurting about a month ago after trying various treatments, vitamins and supplements, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Buehler has had two Tommy John surgeries with the second coming in August of 2022. The right-hander's claim of being pain free comes as new teammate Joe Musgrove is returning from Tommy John surgery and is sharing some of the experiences Buehler had in the past. The 31-year-old Buehler had a 2.90 ERA across his first five seasons in MLB but has a 4.83 ERA across the past three years, and he's especially struggled the last two seasons since the surgery.

Carter (illness) returned to action in a backfields game Thursday, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Carter had to be scratched from the lineup for Wednesday's exhibition versus Team Brazil after falling ill, but he felt well enough to play in a "B" game a day later. The outfielder is 2-for-12 with a stolen base and a 3:5 BB:K in his first six Cactus League contests.