Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Not guaranteed closer role
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Finnegan was told early in the spring by manager Dave Martinez that he could be used in more of a fireman role rather than being limited to the ninth inning, Bobby Blanco of MASN reports.
"I talked to [Finnegan] already and I told him, 'Hey, look, there's gonna be days where you close. There's gonna be days where I feel like the eighth inning is where we need you the most,'" Martinez said in early March. "His response was, 'Hey, whenever you need me, I'll be ready.' I love that about him." Finnegan has collected 11 saves in each of the last two seasons and remains the most likely Washington reliever to crack double digits in 2023, but other options like Alex Colome, Hunter Harvey, Carl Edwards, Sean Doolittle (elbow) and Mason Thompson could also find themselves in the closer mix depending on matchups and performance.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Inks one-year deal
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Finnegan signed a one-year, $2.325 million contract with the Nationals on Friday to avoid arbitration, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Finnegan collected 11 saves for the Nationals last season, posting a 3.51 ERA and 70:22 K:BB over 66.2 innings along the way. He is the favorite to open 2023 as the club's closer, although his leash wouldn't figure to be a long one.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Throws two innings in win
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Finnegan (6-4) earned the win Wednesday in the extra inning against Atlanta. He allowed no runs on one hit and no walks while striking out one over two innings.
Finnegan entered the ninth inning with the game tied 2-2 and needed just nine pitches to retire the side. He remained in the game to pitch a perfect 10th inning. CJ Abrams then hit a walkoff single to earn Finnegan his sixth win of the season. The 31-year-old has been more involved in high-leverage situations of late, as he now has three saves and a win over his last six appearances.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Collects 11th save
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Finnegan didn't allow a hit or walk and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Wednesday against Atlanta.
Finnegan effectively protected a one-run lead to tally his 11th save of the season. After some significant struggles earlier in September, Finnegan has allowed only one earned run across his last five appearances while maintaining an 8:0 K:BB. Though his success in the role has been inconsistent, Finnegan appears to be locked in as the Nationals' closer.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Picks up save
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Finnegan picked up the save in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Marlins, allowing no runs on no hits while striking out three and walking none over one inning.
Finnegan was lights-out Saturday, tossing nine of 14 pitches for strikes to earn the save. Finnegan now has saves in back-to-back appearances after his prior five appearances resulted in a mix of losses, no-decisions and a hold. Finnegan has not allowed a run or a walk in his last three appearances and has allowed only one hit during that span. His season ERA now sits at 3.77.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Collects ninth save
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Finnegan gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his ninth save of the season in a 5-4 win over the Marlins.
He tossed only seven of 12 pitches for strikes and didn't fan a batter, but three groundballs to the left side of the infield got the job done. Finnegan has had a couple meltdowns recently, but since taking over as Washington's closer after the All-Star break, he has a palatable 3.68 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 15:8 K:BB through 22 innings while converting eight of nine save chances.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Melts down in non-save situation
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Finnegan (5-3) allowed five runs on four hits and two walks with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning, taking the loss Wednesday versus the Cardinals.
With a four-run lead, manager Davey Martinez elected to bring Finnegan in for a non-save situation. The move backfired spectacularly, as the Cardinals rallied for five runs and a walkoff win. This ended Finnegan's 9.1-inning scoreless streak, which dated back to Aug. 13, though he hadn't pitched since Sept. 1 entering this appearance. The meltdown raised his ERA to 3.79 with a 1.23 WHIP and 57:21 K:BB through 54.2 innings. He's added eight saves and 13 holds this year, and it's unlikely one blunder will see Finnegan removed from a high-leverage role.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Notches eighth save
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Finnegan struck out one batter in a perfect ninth inning and earned a save over the Reds on Sunday.
Finnegan tossed seven of 10 pitches for strikes as he quickly finished off the 3-2 victory. He's now tossed 7.1 consecutive scoreless frames while converting four straight saves since his last blown chance Aug. 9. Finnegan is sporting a 3.12 ERA and a 53:18 K:BB while converting eight saves in 12 chances this season.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Collects fifth win
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Finnegan (5-2) picked up the win in Wednesday's 3-1 victory over the Mariners, giving up a hit and a walk over 1.1 scoreless innings of relief. He struck out one.
Entering a 1-1 game with two outs in the eighth inning, the right-hander got Mitch Haniger to fly out to end the frame then reaped the rewards as the Nationals scored twice in the top of the ninth. Finnegan has a win or a save in six of his last seven appearances, and Washington's closer now sports a 3.18 ERA and 52:18 K:BB through 51 innings on the year.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Sharp in seventh save
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Finnegan struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Friday's 6-3 win over the Padres.
Finnegan walked two batters in a scoreless inning for a save Thursday, but he was much sharper in Friday's outing. He's pitched four out of five days this week, striking out five and walking two while picking up three saves across four scoreless innings. The 30-year-old has a 3.26 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 51:17 K:BB with seven saves and 13 holds across 49.2 innings this year, though his recent workload may make him unavailable for a save chance if one arises Saturday.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Collects fifth save
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Finnegan recorded his fifth save of the season in Monday's 5-4 victory over the Cubs, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
The right-hander breezed through the Cubs' 9-1-2 hitters on just nine pitches (seven strikes). Finnegan has two wins, four saves and a hold in eight appearances since the All-Star break, posting a 1.80 ERA and 0.80 WHIP over his last 10 innings despite a poor 4:2 K:BB. While he's not dominant, he does appear to be the Nationals' top high-leverage option.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Notches third win
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Finnegan (3-2) picked up the win Tuesday against the Cubs, allowing two runs on four hits over one inning. He didn't walk or strike out a batter.
The Nationals' nominal closer was brought into the game in the seventh inning after Erasmo Ramirez gave up three straight singles to begin the frame, but Finnegan couldn't do much to stem the tide and allowed Chicago to take a 5-4 lead before getting the final out. The blown save was officially Finnegan's fourth of the year, but he got credit for the win when Washington struck back for two runs in the top of the eighth. He hasn't seen work in the ninth inning in any of his three August appearances, and if manager Dave Martinez is shifting Finnegan into a high-leverage fireman role, there could be more saves up for grabs with the Nats -- Carl Edwards recorded his first of the year Tuesday, and other arms like Steve Cishek or Hunter Harvey could factor into the mix as well.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Delivers five-out save
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Finnegan saved Saturday's 7-6 win against the Cardinals, recording the final five outs in order. He failed to notch a strikeout.
Finnegan entered with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning with Washington up 7-5 and surrendered a Paul DeJong sacrifice fly to cut the lead to one run, but he followed that up by inducing four straight unproductive outs to lock down his third save in as many appearances. The 30-year-old navigated five outs on just 16 pitches, though he's recorded only one strikeout over his last 4.1 innings. Since taking on a larger role in July, Finnegan has allowed two runs and six baserunners with eight strikeouts in 11 innings across nine appearances.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Locks down third save
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Finnegan allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Monday's 4-1 win over the Dodgers.
Finnegan was called on for five outs to close out Sunday's game versus Arizona, and he was back on the mound again Monday. He gave up a leadoff single to Gavin Lux but retired the next three batters to secure his third save of the year. Finnegan's covered 3.2 scoreless innings in his last three appearances and now owns a 3.66 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 44:13 K:BB through 39.1 innings. He's the Nationals' closer after Tanner Rainey (elbow) suffered a season-ending injury, but Finnegan's heavy workload in the last two days may leave him unavailable should a save chance arise Tuesday.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Nabs five-out save
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Finnegan pitched 1.2 perfect innings to earn the save in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
Finnegan entered the contest with one out in the eighth inning and promptly got Christian Walker to ground into a double play. In the ninth, Finnegan retired the side without trouble to protect the one-run lead again. The right-hander is the Nationals' preferred closer with Tanner Rainey (elbow) and Sean Doolittle (elbow) both out for the year. Finnegan has allowed two runs in 8.1 innings in July and sports a 3.76 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 43:13 K:BB through 38.1 innings. He's picked up two saves, 12 holds, three blown saves and a 2-2 record. While he's got the backing of manager Dave Martinez, the Nationals' major-league worst 32-65 record is likely to make save chances hard to come by for any reliever on the team.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Misses out on save chance
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Finnegan struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Sunday in a win over Atlanta.
The right-hander was warming up in the bottom of the eighth inning to get ready for his first save chance since moving into the closer role, but a Juan Soto solo shot bumped the Nationals' lead to four runs and erased the opportunity. Finnegan doesn't have elite numbers by any means -- 3.93 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 28.3 percent strikeout rate through 36.2 innings on the year -- but he is manager Dave Martinez's first choice to close with Tanner Rainey (elbow) out for the year, even if a Nats squad on pace for almost 110 losses doesn't wind up providing him with many save chances the rest of the way.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Stepping in as closer
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Manager Dave Martinez labeled Finnegan as "the guy" for the closer role Thursday, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.
Tanner Rainey (elbow) has worked as Washington's primary closer this year and has 12 saves, but he's expected to miss the rest of 2022 after being placed on the 60-day injured list Wednesday with a UCL sprain. Finnegan has operated in a setup role this season with 12 holds, and he has a 3.89 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 41:13 K:BB across 34.2 innings. The right-hander also recorded 11 saves while operating as the Nationals' closer during the second half of last season. Washington ranks last in the league in total saves, so save opportunities could be somewhat infrequent even if Finnegan pitches well.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Picks up first save
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Finnegan allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning to earn a save over Pittsburgh on Monday.
Finnegan worked around a two-out double by Josh VanMeter to finish off the 3-2 win. It was his first save of the season and he lowered his season ERA to 4.03 alongside a 35:10 K:BB through 32 appearances. Tanner Rainey pitched twice over the last three days so Finnegan likely isn't cutting into his role.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Dealing with cut on finger
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Manager Dave Martinez said after Sunday's win over the Giants that Finnegan is dealing with a cut on his finger, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Finnegan gave up a run on no hits and two walks in one-third of an inning Sunday, and Martinez believes the right-hander's laceration contributed to his struggles. The Nationals have a scheduled day off Monday, and it's not yet clear whether the 30-year-old will be available for Tuesday's series opener in Colorado.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Two holds in Tuesday's twin bill
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Finnegan picked up a hold in both ends of Tuesday's doubleheader sweep of the Diamondbacks.
After walking one and striking out one in a scoreless eighth inning in the matinee, Finnegan worked a perfect eighth in the nightcap while fanning another Arizona batter. The right-hander now has three holds and a win through six appearances to begin the season with a 4.76 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 6:2 K:BB through 5.2 innings, and should Tanner Rainey falter as the closer -- something he nearly did in the second game Tuesday before escaping a no-out, bases-loaded, ninth-inning jam -- Finnegan would likely be the next man up for save chances.
