Rangers Named Best Landing Spot for Nationals All-Star Relief Pitcher

The Texas Rangers are currently on the outside looking in on the playoff race in the American League with a 49-49 record entering play on July 19.

3.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox for the third wild card spot in the AL, it isn’t all too surprising that the Rangers are looking to be buyers despite their record not indicating they are much of a contender right now.

Some of the numbers do suggest that Texas has performed better than their record indicates, with their run differential being more similar to a team that has a 55-43 record, which would put them 1.5 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West race.

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With how things have gone to this point, finding more offense would seemingly be atop the Rangers’ to-do list ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

While they will assuredly keep their options open, and if the opportunity presents itself to upgrade the lineup, the biggest need for the team right now is likely their bullpen.

Texas can at least convince itself the lineup will come around based on the track record of the players who are struggling.

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The relief pitching staff, however, isn’t receiving the same benefit of the doubt.

Who could the Rangers target?

One player to keep an eye on is Kyle Finnegan of the Washington Nationals.

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Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report has named Texas as the best landing spot for the veteran closer ahead of the trade deadline.

“The Rangers rank fourth in the majors with a 3.37 ERA from their relief corps, but they have converted just 25 of 42 save opportunities. If they are going to hang around in playoff contention, they will need to do a better job slamming the door,” he wrote.

Luke Jackson, who has been the primary closer for stretches of 2025, has a -0.7 bWAR and 4.45 ERA thus far this season.

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Eight different players have recorded at least one save for Texas in 2025 and five of them have recorded multiple.

Having several players to turn to can be a luxury for manager Bruce Bochy, but the team’s lack of a go-to option is concerning for their outlook this year, especially since they have struggled to consistently close out games.

Finnegan has been touched up recently, surrendering eight earned runs in his last two outings and recording only two outs, but he is an experinced closer who would be a nice addition to this bullpen.

In his career, he has 106 saves. Set to hit free agency again this winter, landing with a team contending for a playoff spot would give him a real opportunity to increase his value to maximize his earnings.

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