Washington Nationals Predicted to Regret Not Trading Star Closer
The Washington Nationals were able to maintain a .500 record for a solid stretch this season, but ultimately fell into 'seller' status before the MLB trade deadline. While a lot of their moves made sense, the most shocking decision might have been the one they didn't make.
A lot of pitchers got moved around at the deadline, but Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan wasn't one of them.
Zach Pressnell of FanSided examined each team's status after all trades were made and came to the conclusion that Washington should have traded Finnegan. Will that decision come back to bite them?
"In the year of the reliever, the Nationals held on to their dominant reliever Kyle Finnegan. Judging by the looks of the other trades, they could have gotten quite the return for their reliever," said Pressnell.
The Los Angeles Angels were able to snag four prospects from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Luis Garcia. While they weren't franchise-changing prospects, two of them are now in the Angels' Top-30.
Garcia is not only older than Finnegan, but has had a far worse season, though it was a bit closer before the new Red Sox reliever fell off the wagon with a 14.09 ERA in his first seven games for Boston.
The Oakland Athletics were able to get three solid prospects from the Kansas City Royals in return for Lucas Erceg. All three of those prospects are now in their Top-30 and one of them is their No. 6 overall prospect.
Erceg is under team control for a few more years than Finnegan, so that probably played into how good the return was, but it's still more than many expected he may be worth.
The Tampa Bay Rays brought over three Top-30 prospects from the San Diego Padres for Jason Adam.
Washington could have gotten a nice return, possibly the best return of anyone they did in fact trade, but decided to hold on to Finnegan.
The main reason to hold on to the 32-year-old is if they expect to contend next season. While they should be better, it'll be a big leap for a young team to already be in the running for another World Series.
It also doesn't help the Nationals' case that the Detroit native has had a rough stretch since the deadline. He had a 5.40 ERA with a four-to-four strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last five games. The game right before the deadline also didn't help his case as he gave up five runs on five hits in just one-third of an inning.
Should Washington have traded Finnegan? Probably. If they end up competing for the playoffs again next season, they'll be happy they held on to him.
DYLAN SANDERS