Injuries continue to mount in the San Diego Padres’ bullpen.
Before Thursday’s series opener at Dodger Stadium, the Padres announced they had placed veteran setup man Jason Adam on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to June 30) with a right shoulder strain. His spot on the active roster was filled by fellow right-hander Germán Márquez, who is returning from an IL stint of his own.
Adam, 34, opened the regular season on the injured list as San Diego gave him extra time to build up following last year’s season-ending quad surgery. He has made 36 appearances since being activated in early April, posting a 2.51 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 17 holds and two saves.
Though it is unclear exactly when Adam’s injury was sustained, the right-hander’s underlying numbers show some reason for concern. Not only is his 16.4% strikeout rate through 32.1 innings well below his career average (27.7%), but his fastball velocity (93.4 mph) is also a tick lower than normal.
The inability to miss bats seemingly caught up to Adam over the last few weeks. He struggled to a 5.11 ERA in June, surrendering four home runs over 12.1 innings. The 2025 All-Star still led the Padres with five holds last month, remaining one of the primary setup men for closer Mason Miller.
Adam is the third right-handed reliever San Diego has lost to injury in the past month. The club has been without Jeremiah Estrada since June 3 because of knee inflammation, and earlier this week, David Morgan went on the injured list with the same issue. It currently has four left-handers in its bullpen, so the addition of Márquez balances out the group.
Márquez, 31, has missed the last two months with right forearm nerve inflammation. He had a 5.76 ERA in 29.2 innings as a starter before the injury but has seemingly been preparing for a bullpen role during his rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso.
After working as a starter in each of his first four appearances with El Paso, Márquez entered in relief in his last two outings. The right-hander allowed one run in 1.2 innings on June 23 and three runs over 0.2 innings on June 30. Overall, he posted a 3.57 ERA with 13 strikeouts and eight walks across 17.2 frames during his monthlong rehab stint.
While Márquez is unlikely to step into high-leverage spots like Adam, his ability to eat innings should help alleviate some of the burden on the Padres’ bullpen. San Diego is in the midst of a stretch of 17 games in 17 days — an especially tough test for a club that is not getting nearly enough length from its starters.
