Should Washington Nationals Reinsert Previously Cut Reliever Back Into Closer Role?
The Washington Nationals surprised a lot of people they non-tendered Kyle Finnegan.
He had been solid during his five seasons with the franchise and was coming off an All-Star selection in 2024.
Letting someone of Finnegan's caliber go when they didn't have a ready-made replacement was eyebrow-raising, but when the Nationals brought him back for roughly $2 million less than what his projected arbitration number was going to be, it was a move that was lauded by just about everyone around the sport.
When he rejoined the team, it was just assumed that the right-hander would be reinserted into his closer role.
Should that actually be what Washington does, though?
After all, his struggles in the second half of the season were a major reason why they non-tendered him in the first place. And while they have a plan in place to keep more gas in Finnegan's tank throughout the year, it's hard not to be nervous about his form when the calendar gets into the late-summer.
Because of that, Sam Sallick of SB Nation's Federal Baseball isn't so sure Finnegan should be the closer to start the year and believes rising star Jose A. Ferrer should get a real shot at owning that role.
"There is a reason (Finnegan) had to wait so long to get signed. On the other hand, Ferrer is on the rise and only getting better at just 25 years old ... Ferrer is somebody I am watching closely, and I think he is already the Nationals best reliever," he wrote.
Sallick did say Finnegan deserves first shot at holding onto his closer title, but the struggles this spring are also something that has to be taken into account.
While these stats largely don't matter, especially for veterans like Finnegan, he has given up three earned runs and five total across 1.2 innings of work during his two outings at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, Ferrar hasn't allowed any runs in seven outings and 6.2 innings pitched, giving up just four hits while striking out eight and walking just two.
This follows the trend that was seen during the back half of 2024.
When Finnegan's ERA inflated from 2.45 prior to the All-Star break to 5.79 after it, Ferrar posted an impressive 3.38 ERA across his 31 outings after being activated from the 60-day injured list on July 19.
That's something to monitor.
If Finnegan isn't able to start the year off well, then he could be moved into a standard relief role instead of being tasked with closing out games.
