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Report: Tigers Trade for Kyle Finnegan

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The Detroit Tigers have made another move for relief help, acquiring former All-Star closer Kyle Finnegan from the Washington Nationals. Finnegan was an All-Star in 2024 in what was a career year for the closer, as he finished third in the MLB in saves with 38. This year has been somewhat of a down year for him this season, losing nearly one MPH on his fastball, and converting just 20 of his 26 save opportunities. The Nationals will receive Josh Randall (No. 15 prospect) and RJ Sales from the Tigers, making this another “small move” for the organization.

Report: Tigers Trade for Kyle Finnegan

 

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More Help On The Way

Closing games shouldn’t be the role for Finnegan with the Tigers, as they have relied heavily on Will Vest to get the job done. With the inconsistency of Tommy Kahnle as of late, Finnegan now slots in as the new eighth-inning guy for the Tigers. This now allows for more depth within the bullpen, and potentially moves Kahnle into less high-leverage situations. The Tigers currently rank 20th in bullpen ERA (4.16), so it shouldn’t come as a shock that they have acquired three relievers at the deadline.

 

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More recently, the Tigers have struggled with their starters getting through five or six innings, so the team needs as much depth as possible if they want to make it deep into October. Finnegan now provides the Tigers with some great depth in the back end of the bullpen and allows A.J. Hinch to manage the game differently, given the experience Finnegan has as a closer.

Best for Vest

Some Tigers’ fans might worry about Will Vest losing his role as the primary closer, but I don’t think that is the case at all. Vest has much better all-around numbers and has earned the respect of the coaching staff to make him the shutdown guy. He doesn’t induce a ton of hard contact, and his fastball is virtually unhittable. I do believe if it comes to the eighth inning, and 1-2-3 are due up, then Vest would be used in that situation, given the added experience of Finnegan in the ninth inning.

This is a good problem to have as a team because you now have two reliable arms to get the final three outs of a game. This is extremely important come postseason time, and with the inconsistency this year of LHP Tyler Holton , the Tigers needed another one of these guys to rely on.

Main Photo Credits: Brad Mills-Imagn Images

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