In a Bullpen Filled with Superpowers, Jason Adam is the Padres' Unsung Hero

When the San Diego Padres executed their trade for Mason Miller at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, one thing became immediately obvious: the Padres were going to try to win in October by building a super bullpen.

Thus far, things have more or less gone according to plan in the month since Miller came over from the Athletics. The Padres are 18-10 in August, have wrestled away (and ceded back) control of the NL West from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and are owners of baseball's best bullpen according to fWAR (6.6), ERA (3.04), FIP (3.50), and saves (43). That unit has been as advertised since the deadline, ranking fourth in ERA (3.29), fifth in fWAR (1.2) and FIP (3.53), and second in strikeout rate (29.2%) among all bullpens in August.

As designed, it's really been a group effort this month. Four guys tie for the lead in fWAR with 0.3 (Miller, Robert Suarez, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon), five have ERAs below 3.00 (the aforementioned quartet, plus Wandy Peralta), and five have a strikeout rate above 30.0% (Miller, Adam, Morejon, David Morgan, Jeremiah Estrada).

Do you notice something about those lists? Only three guys fit all three categories -- Miller, Adam, and Morejon -- and only one of those guys is walking fewer than 7.0% of the hitters he's facing this month. Yes, Jason Adam is the man of the hour, and it's only right that he gets shown some love amidst a crop of renowned hurlers.

Adam has always been good, and save for his disastrous rookie season in 2018 with the Kansas City Royals and a minor blip with the Chicago Cubs from 2020-21, he's never authored an ERA above 3.00 in any season of his major league career. The pitching factory out in Tampa saw to it that Adam would be able to unlock the best version of himself, and after the Rays turned him into one of baseball's best relievers from 2022-24, the Padres have reaped the benefits. Since trading for him at the 2024 trade deadline, the right-handed reliever has delivered the following to San Diego's cause: a 1.59 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 1.03 WHIP, 2.5 fWAR, and sterling strikeout (27.5%) and walk rates (8.8%). He leads the bullpen in innings pitched (90 1/3) and appearances (90) since then, fortifying himself as one of manager Mike Shildt's most dependable options.

He makes his hay the same way most 34-year-old relievers do: a deep and varied arsenal. He's the rare reliever with four true offerings, all of which are forcing batters to whiff more than 21% of the time. His quartet of pitches are all distinct from one another, both in terms of movement and velocity. That's a marked change from the earlier part of his career, when he struggled to hide his changeup against his fastball. Take a look at his pitch charts from 2021 and 2025 (courtesy of Baseball Savant):

This season, every pitch has at least four miles per hour and five inches of break separating it from the pack. As you'd imagine, that's pretty hard for a hitter to pick up on, hence why none of his pitches have surrendered a wOBA or xwOBA above .300. Each offering is a plus pitch, and each are thrown with purpose. When hitters have to try and square that up in one chance against a guy coming out of the bullpen -- especially with the looming threat of the pure gas that Suarez and Miller throw -- it's just an impossible task.

Adam actually hasn't been quite as good this year as he was in 2024; his strikeout rate is down, his walk rate is up, he's generating less whiffs, allowing more barrels, and his fastball velocity is down. That's to be expected for a reliever aging into his mid-30s, but it's pretty telling that even this relatively neutered version of Adam is still as dominant as anyone in San Diego's bullpen of death.

Though he won't be closing games in September and October, there's no doubting the importance of Adam to the Padres' bullpen operation. If this team is going to win, it's going to have to win the way A.J. Preller designed them to: with an unbeatable bullpen. And if this bullpen is going to live up that "unbeatable" moniker, Jason Adam will have to continue pitching the same way he has been since he first landed in San Diego.