Jason Adam DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Jason Adam is being traded to the San Diego Padres, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. In return, the Rays will acquire starting pitching prospect Dylan Lesko, outfield prospect Homer Bush Jr., and catching prospect J.D. Gonzalez. These three prospects were considered the third, eighth, and twelfth best in the San Diego system, respectively, on MLB.com. Adam is one of the better high-leverage relief pitchers in the game, as he sits with a strong 2.49 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. He boasts a 35.2% whiff rate and 27.8% K rate, which place him near the top among all pitchers. The Padres will likely deploy Adam in the eighth inning to serve as the set-up man for Robert Suarez. Adam is worth adding in leagues that score holds as he should have plenty of opportunities to enter the game with a lead pitching on a San Diego team that is eyeing to compete this fall. The Rays acquired three strong prospects and are quickly making the case to have one of the best systems in the sport.

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Jason Adam worked around a walk with three strikeouts in Monday's 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox to earn his third save of the season. The 32-year-old right-hander has been Tampa Bay's best reliever on the season with an excellent stat line of 1.47 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and a .138 batting average allowed. It's important to note that the regular closer, Pete Fairbanks (finger), was unavailable due to a cut on his finger. If Adam keeps this dominance up and Fairbanks' early season struggles continue, don't be surprised if Kevin Cash turns this bullpen into a closer-by-committee situation or, better yet, Adam takes over as the everyday Tampa Bay closer.

It wasn't pretty, but Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Jason Adam picked up his first save of the season in Monday's 1-0 win over the Brewers. Adam came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by one. He allowed a leadoff double, got the first out on a line-out, allowed a walk, allowed a double steal, got the second out on a past-ball strikeout where the runners were held due to batter's interference, hit a batter to load the bases, and finally ended things with a strikeout. The 32-year-old racked up 12 saves last season when Pete Fairbanks (hand) was on the injured list, and Fairbanks is now serving a stint with a hand injury. Given his history serving as interim closer, Adam is worth rostering in at least all roto leagues at this time.

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Jason Adam lost his salary arbitration case against the team on Tuesday. As a result, he'll earn $2.7 million in 2024 instead of the $3.25 million that he filed for. This was Adam's second year of arbitration eligibility. The 32-year-old reliever has been very reliable out of the bullpen for the Rays the last two seasons, going a combined 6-5 with a 2.22 ERA (3.38 FIP), a 0.87 WHIP, 20 saves, 37 walks and 144 strikeouts in 117 2/3 relief innings. Pete Fairbanks will open the year as Tampa's primary closer, but Adam should remain fantasy relevant in leagues that count holds as a high-leverage, late-inning reliever. Adam picked up 11 holds and 12 saves in his sixth major-league season in 2023.