Jason Adam Activated, Back In Padres' Bullpen

With the postseason right around the corner, the San Diego Padres are getting one of their top bullpen arms back.

Right-handed reliever Jason Adam was activated off the 60-day injured list Wednesday by the Padres, who optioned right-hander Griffin Canning to the minors. Another right-handed reliever, Alek Jacob, was designated for assignment to make room for Adam on the 40-man roster.

The Padres entered Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers tied with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies for the NL's three wild-card spots. The Padres lose tiebreakers to both teams, meaning they need to finish ahead of one or both in order to claim anything other than the NL's No. 6 seed.

Adam was the Padres' top setup man when he went on the 15-day injured list on July 2 with a strained right shoulder. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on Aug. 3 as a procedural move to open up a spot on the 40-man roster. 

He made three rehab appearances with Triple-A El Paso last week, one that went well and two others that didn't from a statistical point of view. But stats don't matter much in rehab assignments for the player in question, who is looking to find his form to return to the major-league roster. In the second two, Adam allowed nine runs and recorded just one out. The first one was a perfect inning.

Canning has been a solid contributor since being moved to the bullpen. The run he allowed Tuesday in a 7-0 loss to the Dodgers is the only one given up in his last nine outings covering 14⅔ innings.

Jacob had three stints with the Padres this year when he wasn't at Triple-A El Paso. In each one, he made just one appearance, pitching a total of five innings and giving up three runs for a 5.40 ERA (5.10 FIP). With this being Jacob's first DFA, the Padres can simply outright him to Triple-A if no other team claims him off waivers.