Sep 1, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Jason Adam (40) lies on the ground during the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Petco Park. Adam was taken away in a cart after the play. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
San Diego, California – The Padres’ bullpen took a gut-punch Monday night at Petco Park.
All-Star reliever Jason Adam crumpled to the mound after trying to field a chopper off Gunnar Henderson’s bat, clutching his left knee and immediately calling for help. Minutes later, Adam was carted off with his leg braced, his season all but finished after what team officials described as a ruptured left quadriceps tendon.
Manager Mike Shildt didn’t sugarcoat what Adam means to this club. “This guy since he came last year has been a big part of our success,” Shildt said. “This guy is an absolute workhorse… he means a lot to us and we’ll be praying with him and for him. We’re gonna miss him.”
Adam confirmed afterward that the recovery timeline is six to nine months. He hobbled around the clubhouse on crutches, his left leg strapped into a brace. “This bullpen’s so deep, of all the bullpens in the league to not need me, it’s this one,” Adam told reporters. “There’s everything in this clubhouse to win the World Series.”
The 34-year-old right-hander closes out 2025 with an 8-4 record, a sparkling 1.93 ERA, and 70 strikeouts in 65.1 innings. Since joining San Diego, he’s been a linchpin in what has become the most reliable bullpen in the National League. His absence, though, is no small thing.
In the moment, Adam’s injury set the stage for the Orioles’ game-winner. Robert Suarez, pressed into emergency duty, struck out Colton Cowser but then gave up a two-out single to Dylan Beavers, who drove in Jeremiah Jackson for a 4-3 Baltimore lead.
Dylan Cease, starting for San Diego, struggled through four innings, surrendering two runs on four hits. Adrián Morejón, usually lights-out, coughed up a rare homer to Jackson in the fifth. The Padres clawed back thanks to Luis Arraez, who notched three hits—including the 1,000th of his career—and an RBI. Bryce Johnson added two hits and an RBI as well. Ramón Laureano briefly evened things with a clutch two-out single in the fifth, but Baltimore found the last word.
The loss was San Diego’s sixth in its last eight games, a stumble that drops them 2 ½ games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. For a club that’s leaned so heavily on its bullpen, Adam’s injury comes at a brutal time.
Still, the reliever himself struck a defiant note. “There’s everything in this clubhouse to win the World Series,” Adam said. That’s the hope Padres fans will cling to as the team tries to absorb the blow and keep pace in a tightening division race.
