TIGERS ACQUIRE RHP KYLE FINNEGAN FROM NATIONALS
The Detroit Tigers have acquired right-handed pitcher Kyle Finnegan from the Washington Nationals for minor league right-handed pitchers Josh Randall and R.J. Sales.
Finnegan joins the Tigers with 108 career saves in his six seasons with the Washington Nationals (2020-25). He was named to the National League All-Star team last year, a season in which he collected a career-high 38 saves, second-most in the N.L., with a 3.68 ERA (26 ER/36.2 IP) in 65 relief appearances. The 2024 campaign marked his fourth in a row with 65 or more relief outings. In his career, Finnegan has averaged close to a strikeout per inning (320 strikeouts in 329.1 innings pitched) and has been especially effective against left-handed hitters, limiting them to a .660 OPS and a .209 batting average.
The righthander has earned 20 saves with the Nationals this season, sixth-most in the N.L, while going 1-4 with a 4.38 ERA (19 ER/39.0 IP) in 40 relief outings, including 34 games finished. Finnegan has pitched equally effectively against both righties (.253 average against/.697 OPS against) and lefties (.243/.703). He’s held opponents scoreless in 31 of his 40 appearances this season, and through the end of June sported a 2.61 ERA before allowing a combined 10 runs in three of his 10 outings in July.
Finnegan, 33, broke into the big leagues with Washington in 2020 and started earning saves a year later, successfully closing 11 games in both 2021 and 2022 before tallying 28 saves in 2023, seventh-most in the N.L. He has 86 saves since the start of the 2023 season, third-most in all of baseball over that span. Overall, he has gone 23-30 with 108 saves and a 3.66 ERA (134 ER/329.1 IP) in his 331 career relief appearances.
Born in Detroit, Finnegan graduated from Kingwood (TX) High School and attended Texas State University, from where he was originally selected by the Athletics in the sixth round of the 2013 Draft.
Randall, 22, was recently promoted to Single-A West Michigan from Single-A Lakeland and has combined to go 5-5 with a 3.92 ERA in 17 starts between the stops this season. He was originally selected by the Tigers in the third round of the 2024 Draft.
Sales, 22, is currently pitching for Single-A Lakeland, where he went 4-3 with a 2.71 ERA in 16 appearances (15 starts) this season. He was originally selected by the Tigers in the 10th round of the 2024 Draft.