Padres To Activate Jason Adam

The Padres are activating Jason Adam from the 60-day injured list before tonight’s game in Los Angeles, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Griffin Canning is being optioned to open a spot on the pitching staff. San Diego designated Alek Jacob for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

Adam returns after a near three month absence. He’s been out since the end of June with a shoulder strain. Adam also opened the season on the injured list to complete his rehab from last year’s quad surgery. He’s worked 32 1/3 innings of 2.51 ERA ball with 17 holds this season, but the stuff hasn’t been as sharp as in previous seasons. Adam has a career-low 16.4% strikeout rate with a 93.4 mph average fastball, a tick below where it sat last season.

The Padres have a few days to determine where Adam fits into the bullpen for their playoff roster (assuming they hold off the Diamondbacks to secure a Wild Card berth). Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez anchor the back end. Yuki Matsui and Randy Vásquez and David Morgan are also in the mix for occasional leverage work, though Vásquez is more of a multi-inning option.

Canning has more than five years of service time, meaning he can decline any minor league assignment in favor of free agency. It appears he consented to be optioned, though, a sensible decision since he’ll return to the open market after the season either way. Barring an injury to another pitcher, Canning’s regular season is over. He’s a long shot to make the playoff roster after struggling to a 5.57 ERA over 85 2/3 innings.