We wrote on Thursday about the possibility that Washington Nationals All-Star closer Kyle Finnegan could be non-tendered ahead of Friday's deadline, but now that the transaction has officially been logged, it's time for me to speak my mind about the situation that will now have the Nationals seeking a new 9th inning option for 2025 and beyond.
I don't like to be critical of Mike Rizzo very often, but the way that the front office has handled Kyle Finnegan dating back to just before the deadline has been mind-boggling to me. The month of July was a brutal one for Finnegan, as he pitched to a 7.59 ERA across 12 appearances, but none were more costly than his outing on July 29th against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In that game against the snakes, Finnegan came in to finish the game in a non-save situation, but only retired one batter while allowing 5 earned runs and a pair of homers as the Nationals fell 9-8.
Again, less than 24 hours in a non-save situation, Finnegan saw his ERA jump from 2.47 to 3.48, and the lasting image in the eyes of General Managers across the league was him being shelled for 5 runs in a heartbreaking loss. While in the grand scheme of things, teams probably already had their minds made up that they weren't going to meet whatever asking price that Mike Rizzo had for Finnegan, but that appearance likely all but eliminated any chance that a team was going to make a desperation move for the righty. With him being non-tendered and now an unrestricted free agent, the Nationals are now staring down the barrel of losing their 2024 All-Star closer for nothing.
Whether you want to blame Rizzo for not wanting to budge off of his asking price for Finnegan, or blame Davey Martinez for pitching the righty in a non-save situation the night before the deadline, the way that the organization handled the ordeal was completely inexcusable, in my opinion. At this point, and with the way that the season ended for the Nationals given that they weren't anywhere close to contention, if Mike Rizzo had any doubts that Finnegan wasn't going to be brought back after the season, he should have dealt him and lowered his asking price.
I will be honest in that I am not surprised that the team chose to non-tender him, as I feel like most Nationals fans knew that Finnegan's save numbers weren't quite a reflection of how good he actually was. His strikeout rate was below the league-average for relievers, and his walk rate was right on par with the rest of the league. He was nothing special, and the fact that he was going to be due $8.6 million in arbitration was likely too much for a pitcher of his caliber.
Not wanting to pay that figure for an average reliever is understandable, but you've now put yourself in a position where the club is going to have to go out and get some sort of established 9th inning option to close out games this season, whether via free agency or trade. At least if you had dealt him at the deadline, you could have given those save opportunities later in the season to guys like Jose A. Ferrer or brought up someone like Marquis Grissom Jr., who both could be late-inning options for the club this season. It will be interesting to see how Mike Rizzo handles the bullpen additions that will almost certainly be made, but you can go ahead and pencil in that the Nationals will have a new option locking down wins for the team in 2025.
Do you believe the Nationals should have traded Kyle Finnegan? Do you agree that the club should have non-tendered him? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.