Padres trade haul to Rays for reliever Jason Adam
Jul 12, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jason Adam (47) throws a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians in the ninth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
- Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
The Padres woke up Sunday morning just a half-game away from hosting a playoff series and five games back from the Dodgers.
They decided to push some big chips in from their depleted farm system and trade for the bullpen arm they desperately needed.
Jason Adam from Rays to the Padres for Dylan Lesko, Homer Bush Jr. and JD Gonzalez
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 28, 2024
On Sunday morning, Robert Murray and Ken Rosenthal announced that the Padres had acquired right-handed reliever Jason Adam from the Tampa Bay Rays for three top prospects, including prized RHP Dylan Lesko, OF Homer Bush Jr., and catcher J.D. Gonzalez.
The 32-year-old Adam is considered to be among the best relievers in a stacked Tampa bullpen. He’s currently 4-2 with a 2.49 ERA, 19 holds, 4 saves, and 50 strikeouts. Since joining the Rays in 2021, he’s never had an ERA above three, a WHIP above one, or an opponent batting average over .200. He gets a whiff rate that ranks in the 95th percentile. His four-seam fastball sits in the mid-90s and his changeup has an expected opponent’s batting average of .180. The slider has a whiff rate of 26.5 percent. He’s clearly a talented reliever and should become the new setup reliever for Suarez, allowing Morejon and Estrada, both good in stretches, to move further down the pecking order.
It upgrades the situation with right-handed relievers in the bullpen after Estrada and Suarez.
The price, as is the case with this market for relievers, was astronomical. The Padres traded their third, eighth, and twelfth-best prospects, including their former first-rounder Lesko and former second-rounder Bush Jr.
Lesko had been going through another rough year with questionable command. Bush, while talented, hasn’t blossomed quite as much as they hoped and is blocked by Jackson Merrill for the foreseeable future. The Padres clearly believe this year is something special, and they can win now. These are the kind of moves a team makes when their window is now.
A Native San Diegan, Loren has spent his entire life not only as a fan but an active participant in San Diego’s sports world. In 2006 Loren joined two other die hard Charger fans to create Bolttalk, where Loren was a co-host and regular columnist from 2006 until the Chargers left in 2017. After that he started another podcast, The Grid Podshow, from 2020-2021 with his former co-host and colleague, speaking about the local sports community and popular culture.
When he’s not giving his opinion about San Diego sports, Loren is an adjunct professor at San Diego State and an attorney.
Adam certainly has value, but at this price?!!! Yikes!!!! And for an 8th inning reliever who is 33 years old, and not a starter?!! What do they have to offer now for an actual starter (other than the 2 or 3 players they said were off limits, and they should be).
Mr Buy High/Sell Low/Overpay strikes again.