Kyle Finnegan Gives His Thoughts on Struggles of Young Nationals Relievers
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Even though the Washington Nationals weren't expected to contend in any way this year, that doesn't make the losing any more bearable.
And it's the way they've lost at times this season that has been frustrating.
Armed with a roster that has plenty of rising stars, the Nationals have done enough early in games to put themselves in positions to win. But their bullpen has often given away many of the leads, causing them to sit with a 35-49 record entering July, the fifth-worst mark in the Majors.
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While Washington continues to work through their rebuild, at some point the team has to learn how to win to establish a culture that will allow them to compete with the giants of their division.
Learning is exactly what Kyle Finnegan hopes the young, struggling relievers are doing this year.
"But as a young player, I think it's important to learn on your own. Unfortunately, in this game you learn from mistakes a lot of times. I hope these guys learn from things that have hurt them and always remember the things that have gone well," he said, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN.
Finnegan is in an interesting position.
Virtually everyone knows he won't be on the team after July 31, getting shipped to a contender for the stretch run of the season.
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The veteran has often seen his production plummet after the All-Star break, so perhaps it's not a surprise the Nationals are limiting the amount of appearances he's made in the first half to preserve the peak of his trade value.
That strategy has largely hurt the Nationals in the short-term.
Instead of calling on their best reliever in high-leverage situations that could help them secure a win, manager Dave Martinez has turned to the younger arms and has kept Finnegan in strictly a ninth-inning and save situation role.
Time will tell if Washington's current set of young arms is able to grow from this experience.
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Outside of Finnegan, the only player who has 20-plus appearances and an ERA under 3.00 is Brad Lord, a rookie reliever who has shined thus far. Cole Henry has the second-lowest ERA out of those who meet those parameters, posting a 3.45 ERA in his 29 outings.
Jose A. Ferrer has a 5.28 ERA, Jackson Rutledge has a 6.03, Zach Brzykcy has a 6.86 and Eduardo Salazar has a 9.00, leaving Martinez without a ton of reliable options to choose from.
It's been another year full of growing pains for the Nationals, and if they're going to take the next step, they have to learn from these experiences.
For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai