Rays trade Jason Adam to Padres in 4-player deal

The Tampa Bay Rays continue to remake their roster this deadline.

Tampa Bay traded right-handed reliever Jason Adam to the San Diego Padres for right-hander Dylan Lesko, outfielder Homer Bush Jr., and catcher J.D. Gonzalez.

Adam has emerged as an elite reliever with the Rays. The 32-year-old owns a 2.49 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 50 strikeouts in 47 innings. He has a 2.30 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 10.6 K/9 over 164 2/3 innings in three seasons in Tampa Bay.

He's earning $2.7 million this season and is arbitration eligible in 2025 and '26.

It's the third major trade for the Rays ahead of the deadline. The club also sent Randy Arozarena to the Seattle Mariners, and Zach Eflin to the Baltimore Orioles.

"This was an extremely tough morning saying goodbye to Jason, who has meant so much to our organization on and off the field, but we are very excited to see these three guys we obtained from San Diego grow in our system," Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Lesko is the No. 5 prospect in the Padres' system, according to Baseball America. The 20-year-old, who was the 15th pick in the 2022 draft, owns a 6.46 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 69 2/3 innings in High-A this season.

Gonzalez, the No. 8 prospect, is an 18-year-old who was selected in the third round of the 2023 draft. He's appeared in 48 games in Single-A, hitting .205/.322/.230 with four doubles and 55 strikeouts.

Bush is the No. 12-ranked prospect in the system. The 22-year-old is hitting .272/.362/.347 with 4 home runs and 43 stolen bases in 86 games in High-A.