The Padres are getting a right-hander Jason Adam from the Rays, via Robert Murray of FanSided on X. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reports to X that the Padres are posting accordingly Dylan Lesko radiation. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports on X that striker Homer Bush Jr. and the third prospect also went to Tampa. The third hope is that JD Gonzalezby Joel Sherman of the New York Post on X.
Like many other players before him, Adam bounced around the league before becoming the best in Tampa. He was drafted by the Royals back in 2010 and subsequently spent time in several organizations, including the Padres, as well as the Twins, Blue Jays and Cubs. Cuban was not tendered after 2021, at which point he was sitting at a 4.71 earned run average through 78 1/3 big league innings. He struck out 27.9% of the batters he faced but also gave up a walk rate of 11.4%.
The Rays signed him in 2022 and he has taken his game to the next level since then. He played 170 games as a Ray with a 2.30 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 44.7% ground ball. He has 24 saves and 51 shutouts in that span. That includes 47 appearances this year with a 2.49 ERA. His 27.8% strikeout rate in 2024 is a few years down but his 47.3% ground ball rate is his best.
Every contending club is looking to strengthen their bullpen this time of year and that is especially true for the Padres. Their relievers have a combined ERA of 4.19, which ranks them third lowest in the league. They got good results Robert Suarez, Jeremiah Estrada, Yuki Matsui and others but the boys like it Wandy Peralta again Another De Los Santos they have struggled, and Peralta is currently on the injured list.
Adding Adam and his skills to that support group is understandably exciting, along with his modest salary. Although he will turn 33 next month, his long journey to establish himself in the big leagues has led to a delay in his earnings. He is eligible for compensation for the first time in 2023 as a Super Two player and made $1.775MM last year, receiving a projected bump to $2.7MM here in 2024. He is eligible for two more seasons of arbitration before he is set for free agency after 2026. .
The Padres had to take a major salary cut in the offseason, which resulted in Juan Soto getting traded to the Yankees. They are still trying to field a competitive team here in 2024 and succeed. They are currently on a seven-game winning streak that has brought them to 57-50 and a spot in the National League Wild Card. But it seems they want to avoid the competitive balance tax this year and are currently on track to do so.
RosterResource lists their CBT number at $225MM, about $12MM away from the base cap of $237MM. That seems to give them a decent amount of wiggle room but that’s an unofficial estimate. Adam has less than $1MM left to be paid this year, so he’ll slightly expand the San Diego CBT number, perhaps leaving some front office room to keep moving.
More to come.
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