Washington Nationals Have Plan To Maximize Effectiveness of Star Closer
The Washington Nationals made waves earlier in the offseason when they non-tendered their star closer Kyle Finnegan.
It was a shocking move at the time, and one that solely came down to money since the right-hander had been solid for the team with a 3.56 ERA in 291 games and was coming off an All-Star selection in 2024 with a career-high 38 saves.
But after Finnegan's ERA ballooned to 5.79 following the Midsummer Classic, the roughly $8 million he was eligible to receive in arbitration became something the Nationals didn't want to pay.
So, they didn't extend him a contract and let him hit the open market.
In an even more shocking twist of fate, the 33-year-old remained on the market until Washington brought him back in a late-offseason move on a one-year, $6 million deal.
Now, the major question mark that still existed in this bullpen regarding who was going to close out games is solved with the reunion of Finnegan, something that makes this team more complete on paper as they look to take the next step forward in their rebuild.
The Nationals are going to use the veteran as their closer, but there are still some concerns about his late-season production based on his effectiveness falling off a cliff in comparison to the early parts of the year.
Washington has a plan, though.
"Manager Dave Martinez said Finnegan will remain the team's primary closer, though he plans to give Finnegan more days off to try to prevent overuse, which the team believes contributed to his second-half struggles last year," reported Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post.
It will be interesting to see if this helps or not.
As a closer, Finnegan normally isn't called upon unless the Nationals have a tight lead or are in a close game, something that limits the amount of appearances a pitcher in that role gets.
Just last year, Finnegan made 65 appearances with 43 of them coming in save situations.
Perhaps Dave Martinez is hinting at the veteran reliever only being used when it's time for him to close out a game instead of being called upon at other points throughout the season.
Whatever happens remains to be seen, but Washington wants to get the most out of their reunion with Finnegan, and they have a plan they think will accomplish that.
