Adams made his Major League debut on August 10, 1995, for the Cubs against the San Diego Padres in the first game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field.

Adams returned to the mound in the second game of the doubleheader, pitching a scoreless eighth inning in relief of starting pitcher Steve Trachsel.

After the 1999 season, the Cubs traded Adams to the Los Angeles Dodgers (along with two minor leaguers Chad Ricketts and Brian Stephenson) in return for Eric Young and Ismael Valdes.

Adams signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2002 season as a starting pitcher before ultimately being returned full-time to the bullpen.

On May 23, in what would prove to be his final big league appearance, Adams yielded one run on two hits with a strikeout in one-third of an inning of work for the Phillies in a 5–2 loss to the Florida Marlins.

Adams' professional career came to a close with the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Indianapolis Indians of the International League, in 2006.