The Padres acquired right-hander Jason Adam from the Rays in alternate for 3 prospects, per bulletins from each golf equipment. The Padres are sending righty Dylan Lesko, outfielder Homer Bush Jr. and catcher J.D. Gonzalez to Tampa. The Friars designated right-hander Glenn Otto for project to open a roster spot, whereas the Rays reinstated Jeffrey Springs from the 60-day injured record to take Adam’s spot.
Like so many different gamers earlier than him, Adam bounced across the league earlier than lastly changing into his finest self in Tampa. He was drafted by the Royals again in 2010 and subsequently frolicked in a number of organizations, together with the Padres, in addition to the Twins, Blue Jays and Cubs. He was non-tendered by the Cubs after 2021, at that time sitting on a 4.71 earned run common by means of 78 1/3 main league innings. He had struck out 27.9% of batters confronted but additionally given out walks at a excessive fee of 11.4%.
The Rays signed him going into 2022, and he has taken his recreation to a different degree since then. He made 170 appearances as a Ray with a 2.30 ERA, 30.4% strikeout fee, 8.3% stroll fee and 44.7% floor ball fee. He has 24 saves and 51 holds in that point. That features 47 appearances this 12 months with a 2.49 ERA. His 27.8% strikeout fee in 2024 is a number of ticks under latest years however his 47.3% floor ball fee is a private finest.
All contending golf equipment need to bolster their bullpens at the moment of 12 months and that’s very true of the Padres. Their reduction corps has a mixed ERA of 4.19, which locations them within the backside third of the league. They’ve obtained good outcomes from Robert Suarez, Jeremiah Estrada, Yuki Matsui and others, however guys like Wandy Peralta and Enyel De Los Santos have struggled, with Peralta at the moment on the injured record.
Including Adam and his abilities to that reduction group is understandably interesting, as is his modest wage. Although he turns 33-years-old subsequent month, his lengthy journey to being established on the main league degree has led to him having a delayed path to notable earnings. He certified for arbitration for the primary time going into 2023 as a Tremendous Two participant and made $1.775M final 12 months, getting a modest bump to $2.7M right here in 2024. He’s eligible for 2 extra arbitration seasons earlier than he’s slated without spending a dime company after 2026.
The Padres needed to make vital wage cuts within the offseason, which led to Juan Soto getting buying and selling to the Yankees. They’ve nonetheless tried to subject a aggressive group right here in 2024 and have succeeded. They’re at the moment on a seven-game successful streak that has bumped them to 57-50 and possession of a Nationwide League Wild Card spot. However they seemingly need to keep away from the aggressive stability tax this 12 months and are at the moment on tempo to take action.
RosterResource calculates their CBT quantity at $225M, roughly $12M away from the $237M base threshold. That seems to offer them an honest quantity of wiggle room, however that’s an unofficial estimate. Adam has lower than a $1M left to be paid out this 12 months, so he’ll solely marginally improve San Diego’s CBT quantity, maybe leaving the entrance workplace room for additional strikes.
The Rays aren’t buried within the standings however have determined to do some promoting this 12 months anyway, seemingly attributable to a mixture of sturdy depth in addition to a vendor’s market. Their document is at the moment 53-52, simply 4 video games out of a playoff spot, but they’ve already traded a number of established massive leaguers for youthful expertise. They’ve despatched Zach Eflin to the Orioles, Aaron Civale to the Brewers, Randy Arozarena to the Mariners and now Adam to the Padres.
They nonetheless have an opportunity to compete down the stretch however haven’t been shy about making these sorts of strikes, seemingly content material so as to add some younger expertise and avoid wasting cash whereas making an attempt to backfill the misplaced expertise from inside their very own system. With Springs, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen nearing returns from elbow surgical procedures, they’d readymade rotation replacements. Baz got here as much as take Civale’s spot, and Springs is about to do the identical for Eflin. Arozerena’s taking part in time may be given to guys like Richie Palacios or Jonny DeLuca, whereas the membership at all times has intriguing bullpen arms readily available and may possible put collectively a stable reduction corps even with out Adam.
Lesko, 20, is considered as probably the most intriguing a part of their return on this deal. The Padres chosen him fifteenth general in 2022, and he has obtained loads of love from prospect evaluators since then. His time within the minors has seen him miss loads of bats but additionally the strike zone. He has thrown 69 2/3 innings over 16 begins on the Excessive-A degree this 12 months with a 6.46 ERA. He has struck out 25% of batters confronted however walked 16.5% of them.
Regardless of the management points, he’s nonetheless thought-about one of many higher prospects within the league. FanGraphs at the moment lists him No. 88 general and MLB Pipeline No. 76. Baseball America had him No. 38 general coming into the 12 months, however he’s not on the highest 100 and was lately bumped to No. 5 within the Padres’ system. Maybe the Padres are shifting on from a prospect that they’ve soured on or they’ve merely accepted this as the worth of getting a top quality reliever who’s inexpensive and controllable. Both means, Tampa has a robust fame of getting the most effective out of gamers and will maybe get Lesko again on monitor within the years to return.
Bush is of course the son of former massive leaguer Homer Bush. The youthful Bush was a fourth-round decide of the Padres final 12 months. He’s a speed-and-defense specialist with a contact-based strategy on the plate. In 130 minor league video games, he has seven dwelling runs, a 9.5% stroll fee and 15.7% strikeout fee, resulting in a line of .290/.383/.379. He additionally has 65 steals in 76 tries. BA at the moment ranks him twelfth within the Padres’ system.
Gonzalez was a third-round decide final 12 months, and BA at the moment ranks him No. 8 within the system. He’s solely hitting .205/.322/.230 in Single-A this 12 months however is projected to doubtlessly be a two-way participant from behind the plate sometime.
Otto was claimed off waivers in September. He started the 12 months on the injured record with a proper teres main pressure. He started a rehab project in early June and was optioned later that month. He has tossed 15 1/3 innings within the minors this 12 months with a 7.63 ERA. The Friars can have a number of days to contemplate trades or put him on waivers.
The Padres have made a notable improve to their bullpen for the stretch run however absolutely aren’t achieved. Bob Nightengale of USA At present experiences on X that they’re now going to show their attentions to the rotation. The Rays have already made various future-focused strikes however might maybe think about extra, with gamers like Pete Fairbanks, Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz candidates to go within the coming days.
Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Adam was heading to the Padres on X. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reported Lesko’s inclusion on X. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on X that Bush and a 3rd prospect have been additionally going to Tampa. Joel Sherman of The New York Submit first relayed Gonzalez on X.
