Former Washington Nationals Closer Predicted to Join NL Central Contender
The Washington Nationals let a bullpen staple enter free agency earlier this offseason and now he could be used to complete a roster transformation for another NL team hoping to compete.
Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer recently went through a handful of 'under-the-radar' players that are still sitting in free agency. One of those mentioned was former Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan.
The writer predicted that Finnegan would end up signing with the Chicago Cubs this offseason, one of the few teams that are known to have interest in the reliever.
Going off of just his first half, one would be shock to find out that Finnegan is even available to be signed or that the Nationals let him walk in the first place.
Over his first 41 appearances last season, he posted a 2.45 ERA with 25 saves and a 1.017 WHIP. He made an All-Star team and had plenty of trade interest.
Rather than shipping off to a contender at his peak value, Washington decided to keep him around. That turned out to be a massive mistake.
Over his next 24 games in the second half, he started getting hit. He gave up a 5.79 ERA and his WHIP jumped up to 1.886.
After his struggles, the Nationals decided to bite the bullet and non-tender him. Now, he is open to sign wherever he wants.
The Cubs make plenty of sense as a landing spot, given that they don't have a solid answer at closer, but have players that they could rely on if Finnegan starts to struggle again.
Right now, their closer would be Porter Hodge. As a rookie, he burst onto the scene with a 1.88 ERA over 39 appearances with nine saves after taking the role over.
While he is clearly talented, letting a youngster have full control of the job is risky for a team with playoff aspirations. Bringing in Finnegan and letting Hodge grow further would be a safer option.
As for Washington, they have already found a potential closer. It appears as though the recently signed Jorge Lopez could take the job this season, but the Nats also have internal candidates.
Lopez had the opposite of Finnegan's 2024. He famously crashed out with the New York Mets after struggling to start the year. He then revived his career in Chicago with a 2.03 ERA over the final 24 games.
He was only a full-time closer with the Baltimore Orioles back in 2022, but was good enough in the role to earn an All-Star nod.
