LOS ANGELES -- The Padres’ bullpen, even amid the team’s recent struggles, has remained an unquestioned strength this season. That notion might soon be put to the test.
Right-hander Jason Adam, 34, landed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain ahead of Thursday’s series opener against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
In a corresponding move, San Diego reinstated righty Germán Márquez from the 15-day IL after he’d missed two months with right forearm nerve inflammation.
Adam’s status and timeline
Adam underwent an MRI on his shoulder on Monday, but the results of that imaging weren’t immediately available.
The injury arose, manager Craig Stammen said, when Adam went through his usual throwing program on Wednesday. He hadn’t been dealing with any shoulder trouble previously but felt it on Wednesday while playing catch.
"He just felt like he couldn’t get it going,” Stammen said. “We felt like the safest thing was to put him on the IL, call Germán up. So hopefully Jason’s injury isn’t too long. And then we can give him a little breather, and he can be back helping our bullpen again.”
Adam had slumped to a 5.11 ERA in June. Still, the Padres need him. Even with his recent struggles, Adam has posted a 2.51 ERA across 36 outings, and he was an All-Star last season.
Márquez’s role
In six starts this season, Márquez notched a 5.76 ERA before he went down with injury in early May. That won’t be the role he fills upon his return.
Márquez will pitch out of the bullpen -- which he hasn’t done in the big leagues since his 2016 rookie season. But he made six appearances for Triple-A El Paso during a rehab stint, two of which came out of the ‘pen.
“It’s been a long time that I haven’t been in the bullpen,” Márquez said. “But like I said: I’m just ready to help the team to win.”
Márquez could provide some much-needed length for a Padres team that has been forced to rely far too heavily on its bullpen in recent weeks. San Diego is in the midst of a stretch with 17 games in 17 days and is not getting nearly enough length from its starters. It stands to reason that the presence of Márquez -- who initially built up to five innings with El Paso -- could seriously alleviate that burden.
“I have to be ready for one inning,” Márquez said. “Or five innings.”
Replacing Adam
Márquez’s length could be useful. But he’s no replacement for Adam, who regularly covered high-leverage innings. Adam’s absence will be felt in a bullpen that is already without Jeremiah Estrada and David Morgan, who are both dealing with knee trouble.
“We definitely miss Jason,” Stammen said. “We miss Jeremiah. We miss all those guys that were a big part of our bullpen the last couple years and obviously pitch late in games for us when we’re winning.
“So we’ll miss them. But we’ve got other guys that we trust and have been pitching really well this year that could fill right in.”
Stammen’s not wrong. The Padres’ bullpen is obviously headlined by big-name arms like Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon (along with Adam and Estrada). But it’s also been so effective largely because of its depth.
Wandy Peralta, Yuki Matsui and rookie Bradgley Rodriguez have all been excellent this season. They’ve mostly covered the middle innings but with Adam and Estrada on the IL, all three are suddenly high-leverage options.
If Adam’s absence is a lengthy one, the Padres’ bullpen could be in trouble in the long run. But they could have the arms necessary to mitigate his absence in the short term.