TIGERS, RHP KYLE FINNEGAN AGREE TO TWO-YEAR DEAL DEAL INCLUDES A MUTUAL OPTION FOR 2028
The Detroit Tigers and right-handed pitcher Kyle Finnegan have agreed to terms on a two-year contract worth $19,000,000 guaranteed. Finnegan will earn a base salary of $8,750,000 during the 2026 season and $8,000,000 in 2027. The deal includes a mutual option for 2028 at $10,000,000 with a $2,250,000 buyout.
Additionally, here is a breakdown of $500,000 in performance bonuses attainable for both the 2026 and 2027 seasons:
- $125,000 each for 40, 45, 50, and 55 games finished
Finnegan rejoins the Tigers after being acquired from the Washington Nationals at last season’s trade deadline. He made an immediate impact, tossing 14.1 scoreless innings while limiting foes to a .219 OPS across 12 relief appearances in August. He became the first Tigers pitcher acquired midseason to begin his tenure in Detroit with at least 14.1 scoreless innings since Doug Bair started with 19.1 scoreless innings in 1983. Finnegan endured a right adductor strain in early September that landed him on the injured list for two weeks before he returned to help Detroit into the playoffs.
Overall with the Tigers, Finnegan went 3-0 with four saves and a 1.50 ERA (3 ER/18.0 IP) in 16 relief outings in the regular season while going 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA (3 ER/7.1 IP) in six post-season games. Combined between Detroit and Washington, Finnegan went 4-4 with 24 saves and a 3.47 ERA (22 ER/57.0 IP) in 56 regular season appearances. He pitched effectively against both lefties (.204 average against/.585 OPS against) and righties (.238/.678) and held opponents scoreless in 42 of his 56 appearances in 2025 with 11 of his 24 runs allowed coming in just three outings.
The 34-year-old Finnegan has 112 career saves in his six seasons with the Washington Nationals (2020-25) and Tigers (2025). He was named to the National League All-Star team in 2024, 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. In his career, Finnegan has averaged close to a strikeout per inning (343 strikeouts in 347.1 innings pitched) and has been especially effective against left-handed hitters, limiting them to a .662 OPS and a .204 batting average.
Finnegan 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 90 saves since the start of the 2023 season, fifth-most in all of baseball over that span. Overall, he has gone 26-30 with 112 saves and a 3.55 ERA (137 ER/347.1 IP) in his 347 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.
