The Washington Nationals have had a lot of issues with their bullpen throughout the 2025 MLB regular season.
Before making some changes and moving on from a few veterans, the team was struggling to hold onto leads and close games were quickly turning into blowouts.
The only player that manager Dave Martinez was able to consistently rely on was his closer; Kyle Finnegan.
An All-Star in 2024, he has performed at a high level throughout the campaign. Through 19 appearances, he has thrown 18.2 innings with a stellar 2.42 ERA. He has recorded 15 saves, giving him at least 11 in five consecutive years, to go along with 17 strikeouts.
His improvement stems from a newfound ability to keep the ball in the park, not allowing a home run yet in 2025.
Unfortunately for the Nationals, they didn’t have the services of Finnegan to end the weekend, exhibiting an abundance of caution since he was dealing with some arm fatigue after making two appearances against the Atlanta Braves earlier in the week.
"Just a little arm fatigue after pitching twice against Atlanta,” Finnegan said to the media after the team’s 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, via Bobby Blanco of MASN. “I just haven't quite bounced back yet. But I feel fine. It's just an abundance of caution, take an extra day."
When Will Kyle Finnegan Be Available To Pitch for Nationals?
With Finnegan resting, it was veteran Jorge Lopez who was called upon to finish the game.
After a brutal start to his first season with Washington, Lopez has found his groove recently and is once again someone who Martinez trusts going to in high-leverage situations.
With an off day scheduled on Monday, Finnegan will have had multiple days of rest to get his arm back to where it needs to be, with his last outing coming on May 22.
It isn’t something he is overly concerned about, either.
“Just like fatigue,” Finnegan said. “Some outings you're more sore than others, really no reason why. Just a little more fatigued. But like I said, it's really not something I'm concerned with at all."
The veteran closer has not landed on the injured list during his Major League career, a streak he would love to keep intact.
Based on everything he and the team are sharing, he should be able to avoid it again with the extra days off doing him wonders.
Finnegan is someone plenty of teams around the league will be keeping a close eye on as one of the most popular trade targets ahead of the deadline.
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