Feb 12, 2024; Peoria, AZ, USA; A general view of a hat belonging to a member of the San Diego Padres during a workout day at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images Allan Henry-Imagn Images

How Padres Season-Ending Injury Opens Up NL Wild Card Race

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The San Diego Padres are among the top overall teams in baseball, but they got dealt a significant blow on Monday.

San Diego took on the Baltimore Orioles and ended up losing 4-3 to drop its record to 76-62 on the season with a few weeks remaining in the regular season. This wasn't the worst part, though. On top of the loss, San Diego All-Star reliever Jason Adam was carted off the field after suffering a ruptured quad tendon that will end his 2025 season, as shared by the New York Post's Matt Ehalt.

"The Padres’ road to an NL West crown became harder Monday night when All-Star reliever Jason Adam reportedly suffered a season-ending ruptured tendon in his left quadriceps," Ehalt said. "Adam collapsed while reacting to an infield single hit up the middle by Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, and exited the field on a cart.

The Padres have had some bad luck recently

“I felt the pop right away, felt it kind, felt like a quad kind of rolled up, so I kinda knew it wasn’t good,” Adam said. “It was pain at first, and then you can kind of come to like, ‘Hey, did we get the out?’ Then, it’s just waiting to hear how long.”

The Padres right now have the No. 2 Wild Card spot in the National League. But, serious injuries are hurting the team's chances right now. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts is out for the regular season and now Adam is out as well after logging a 1.93 ERA in 65 total appearances.

Right now, the Padres are ahead of the New York Mets for the third NL Wild Card spot by two games. The Cincinnati Reds are four games behind the Mets. With 24 games remaining, it will be hard to see the Padres completely drop out of a playoff spot, but the injuries does hurt. The Padres have the MLB's best bullpen ERA at 3.11, but the loss of Adam could impact that. The Mets are close enough that they could catch the Padres. But, these injuries likely will have a bigger impact in the playoffs itself than actually getting there.

More MLB: How Next 12 Games Will Impact Aaron Judge-Cal Raleigh AL MVP Race

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: