Tigers ink Kyle Finnegan to two-year contract

Finnegan has the best season of his career in 2025. It didn’t start that way with the Washington Nationals, as his 4.38 ERA was tracking to be the worst of his career, while on the brighter side, his FIP sat at 3.65. After 39 innings pitched, Finnegan was traded ahead of the 2025 trade deadline to the Detroit Tigers. It was in the Motor City where the 34-year-old excelled.

In his 16 innings pitched during the backend of the 2025 season, Finnegan posted a 1.50 ERA and 1.97 FIP in 18 innings pitched, while his K% jumped from 19.6% to 34.8%. Moreover, his walk rate declined, going from 8.6% in Washington to 6.1% once he was traded. Overall, the righty finished with a 3.47 ERA and 3.12 FIP in 57 innings pitched in 2025. 

For the first time in his career, Finnegan pitched in the postseason. In seven and one-third innings pitched, he had a 3.68 ERA and 3.14 FIP, but his K% plummeted to 10%. Still, the end of his regular season was encouraging.

Finnegan had served as the Nationals closer from 2023 until he was traded, and even picked up double-digit saves in both 2021 and 2022. That said, he wasn’t one of the highly touted closers on the markets. The most notable reliever to hit free agency this off-season was Edwin Díaz, but he signed a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

The reliever market is quickly starting to thin out, with Raisel Iglesias, Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley, and quite a few other high-leverage relievers signing elsewhere. That leaves the Toronto Blue Jays in a bit of a pickle, as Robert Suárez and Pete Fairbanks are the two most notable closers remaining.

They’ve been linked to the former by quite a handful of media members in the past few days and he is easily the best available option. Time will tell if the Blue Jays will be able to outbid the New York Mets for Suárez’s services, though.