Report: Tigers and Nationals relievers drawing trade interest

Now that the calendar has flipped to June and the trade deadline is just over the horizon, teams will be starting to line up their plans for the later in the summer. Relief pitchers tend to always be in demand, since just about every contender could squeeze another quality arm or two or three into their bullpen.

With the expanded playoffs, there are few obvious sellers at the moment, which puts a spotlight on those that do make sense to have players on the block. As such, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that clubs with bullpen needs are interested in the relievers of the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals. He specifically mentions Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Carl Edwards Jr., Alex Lange, Will Vest and Jason Foley as those being targeted.

It’s not terribly surprising to see either club eyed up by competitors. The Nats have been firmly in rebuild mode for a few years, now, having already traded away established players like Trea Turner, Max Scherzer and Juan Soto. Their 25-35 record this season has them in the basement of the National League East. The Tigers are a bit more murky, as they tried to come out of their rebuild last year before ending up with a 66-96 record.

While the Tigers' 26-33 record early this season is not great, it still leaves them only four games back in a weak American League Central. Perhaps they could hang around for the next couple of months, but they also recently lost both their best pitcher and position player when Riley Greene and Eduardo Rodriguez hit the injured list, respectively. That doesn’t guarantee the team will slide further back in the coming weeks, but the possibility is there.

Of course, each individual player will require a different calculus based on their performance, years of control, age etc. Let’s take a look at the six names mentioned and see what both sellers and buyers will be weighing out. Most of these players have multiple years of team control, meaning the Tigers/Nationals don’t strictly need to pull the trigger on a trade this summer. Given that relievers are often volatile from year to year, as well as the ever-present injury risk, there is always a temptation to sell high when the opportunity is there.

Alex Lange, Tigers

Lange, 27, is in his third major league season and has seemingly improved every time the calendar flips over. He posted a 4.04 ERA in 2021, 3.41 last year and is down to 2.55 this year. His strikeout rate has also ticked up at the same time, going from 24.1 percent to 30.3 percent to 35 percent in the same time frame. However, this is also true of his walk rate, which has grown from 9.9 percent to 11.4 percent to 13 percent. That’s a bit concerning, but his overall results are still trending in a positive direction as he has taken on a higher-leverage role. Lange earned 21 holds last year and has jumped into the closer’s role this season, posting 10 saves already. He likely won’t even reach arbitration after the campaign and he is not slated for free agency until after the 2027 campaign.

Will Vest, Tigers

Vest, 28, has similarly improved year over year. He had a 6.17 ERA as a Rule 5 pick with the Mariners in 2021 before getting sent back to the Tigers in July. They are surely glad the M’s made that decision, as Vest posted an ERA of 4.00 last year and is down to 2.74 this year. He’s striking out 27.5 percent of opponents this season while walking just 8.8 percent while getting grounders on half of the balls in play he’s allowed. He hasn’t been in as many high-leverage spots, though, only notching a couple of holds on the year. Much like Lange, Vest will likely come up short of Super Two status this winter and won’t be on path for free agency until the 2027-28 offseason.

Jason Foley, Tigers

Foley, 27, made a brief debut in 2021 with a 2.61 ERA in 11 outings. He received a lengthier showing last year and his ERA did jump up – but it was still at a respectable 3.88. He has cut that way down to 1.42 this year thanks to an incredible 61.4 percent ground ball rate. His 21.6 percent strikeout rate is a bit below average, but his 5.2 percent walk rate is very good. Foley has been moved into a setup role this season, earning 10 holds and a couple of saves on the year so far. Like his two teammates listed above, he has yet to qualify for arbitration and isn’t scheduled for free agency until after the 2027 campaign.

Kyle Finnegan, Nationals

Finnegan, 31, moved into a high-leverage role with the Nats in recent years. He earned 22 saves and 27 holds over the 2021 and 2022 seasons while posting a 3.53 ERA in that span, as well as a 24.6 percent strikeout rate, 10 percent walk rate and 47.9 percent ground ball rate. His ERA has ticked up to 4.56 this year, but that is mostly due to one bad outing early in the season. The Rays put a five spot on him on April 4. He has a 2.11 ERA since that performance. Every pitcher’s stats would look better if you took out their worst game, but his peripherals are fairly close to his career norms and it’s possible that he continues to even things out over time. Finnegan drew some trade interest a year ago but ultimately stayed in Washington. He came into this season with exactly three years of service time and is making a salary of $2.3M for the campaign. He’ll be in line for raises over the next two years before qualifying for free agency after the 2025 campaign.

Hunter Harvey, Nationals

Harvey, 28, saw some brief time in the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles earlier in his career, but was put on waivers after the 2021 season. He was initially claimed by the San Francisco Giants and then the Nationals on a second waiver claim. Last season, he got his first extended stretch in the majors and responded with a 2.52 ERA in 38 outings. He struck out 28.7 percent of batters faced while walking 7.6 percent. This year, his strikeout rate is up to 31.4 percent, though some extra home runs have pushed his ERA to 3.33. He got six holds last year and is already up to 11 this season, to go with a trio of saves. Harvey is making $870K this season and would be able to go through arbitration two more times before reaching free agency after the 2025 season.

Carl Edwards Jr., Nationals

Edwards, 31, had some solid seasons with the Cubs earlier in his career, but he didn’t pitch much over the 2019-2021 period due to various injuries. He signed a minor league deal with the Nats prior to the 2022 campaign and has been able to bounce back nicely. He had a 2.76 ERA in 57 appearances last year and is at 3.28 this year. While Edwards is only striking out 18.2 percent of opponents this season and is walking 12.7 percent, he has been inducing grounders at a strong 48 percent clip. He had 13 holds and a couple of saves last year and is currently up ato 12 holds and one save already this season. Unlike the other names on this list, Edwards would be a pure rental, making $2.25M for the season and slated for free agency this winter.