Merrill was removed from Wednesday's game against the Dodgers with an apparent back injury, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.
The young outfielder appeared to tweak something while trying to rob Shohei Ohtani's home run in the first inning, and Merrill was later taken out of the game at the start of the fifth. The Padres will likely send him for imaging to determine the specifics of his injury. If he has to miss any time, Bryce Johnson would be in line to pick up starts in center field.