Detroit Tigers Could Pursue Former Washington Nationals Pitcher
The MLB offseason will be heating up in the near future and the Detroit Tigers seem likely to be a key player in the free agency market.
After making a magical late-season run to get into the playoffs and winning a series in the postseason, the Tigers are once again a noticeable team in the American League.
Detroit has some money to spend and they're on the rise. They have actually become a team that would intrigue free agents and have a chance to land some big names.
That being said, a new wave of free agents have hit the market. There were quite a few players around the league who were non-tendered over the past week and a few of them could make sense as targets for the Tigers.
Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press has suggested an intriguing bullpen arm that Detroit should consider. He mentioned that former Washington Nationals' reliever and closer Kyle Finnegan would make sense.
Finnegan is coming off of a 2024 season that saw him make the All-Star game and would be a big impact player coming out of the bullpen for the Tigers.
"Finnegan, an All-Star reliever in 2024, registered a 3.68 ERA with 24 walks and 60 strikeouts across 63⅔ innings in 65 games last season, racking up 38 saves in 43 opportunities. His fastball sits around 97 mph, but he ranked below average in strikeout rate (22.1%), walk rate (8.9%) and swing-and-miss rate (23.1%) — similar to Tigers reliever Jason Foley. Still, Finnegan has the potential to tap into more whiffs because of his splitter and slider. He owns a 3.56 ERA across 291 games in his five-year MLB career, including 88 saves in 109 chances and a 23.3% strikeout rate in the past four seasons."
At 33 years old, Finnegan still has a few good years left in him. Detroit should absolutely make a play for him.
During the 2024 campaign with the Nationals, Finnegan ended up appearing in 65 games. In those outings, he compiled a 3-8 record to go along with a 3.68 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, a 2.5 K/BB ratio, 38 saves, and just five blown saves.
Whether he slots in as a closer or simply a high level bullpen arm, he would be a solid impact pitcher for the Tigers. Assuming the price is right, he would be a perfect option.
All of that being said, it will be interesting to see what Detroit ends up doing this offseason. The Tigers are hungry to win and that could lead to a couple of sizable moves.
