Padres Cut Ties With 4-Year Veteran, Add Jason Adam to Bullpen Amid Series vs Dodgers

The San Diego Padres made a roster move ahead of Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, adding an All-Star reliever to an already elite bullpen.

Right-handed pitcher Jason Adam, who's been on the injured list since the end of June, has been activated off the 60-day IL.

In order to make room on the active roster, right-hander Griffin Canning was optioned to the Arizona Complex League. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Alek Jacob was designated for assignment.

Canning has allowed just one run since Aug. 15 (nine appearances). Jacob made just three appearances at the big league level this season, sporting a 5.40 ERA over five innings.

We have reinstated RHP Jason Adam from the 60-day IL, optioned RHP Griffin Canning to the ACL Padres, and designated RHP Alek Jacob for assignment.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 24, 2026

Padres Activate Jason Adam to Bolster Bullpen Despite Struggles on Rehab Assignment

The Padres are bringing Adam back after he struggled mightily on his rehab assignment at Triple-A El Paso.

After pitching a scoreless inning in his first appearance on Sept. 13, he pitched back-to-back games from Sept. 16-17 and was lit up.

Overall, across the two appearances, Adam recorded just one out, allowing nine runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout.

It was a concerning development for the Padres' high-leverage reliever, but manager Craig Stammen didn't want to put too much stock into the results in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

“It’s always tough to evaluate when pitchers are pitching in El Paso, especially Jason coming off the injured list and trying to find his stuff and recalibrate everything,” Stammen said last week. “You take it with a grain of salt. But he’s feeling really good physically, and I expect him to be back with the big club at some point.”

This week, Adam threw a live batting practice session and joined the team on their trip to Los Angeles. The 2025 All-Star was looking forward to his activation.

“Yeah, more than ready,” Adam said on Tuesday. “Yeah, I feel 100% ready. Could pitch tonight, but I don’t know what their plans are. So we’ll see.”

While Adam didn't return on Tuesday, he's back one day later, and should factor into the team's plans sooner rather than later.

“You can’t take any days in the big leagues for granted, especially playoff games,” Adam said. “You never know when your next chance might be. So you want to be a part of that. That’s why we play 162 games is for the chance at the playoffs and to win a World Series. So I want to be a part of that, obviously, as much as possible.”

Across 36 appearances this season, Adam has a 2.51 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 32.1 innings of work. Last year, he had a 1.93 ERA and 70 strikeouts over 65.1 innings.

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