Washington Nationals Free Agent Relief Pitcher Sees Market Heat Up

The Washington Nationals have some challengers if they want to bring back their free agent reliever.

Aug 25, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Kyle Finnegan (67) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals sent a former pitcher into the free-agent market this offseason after he spent his entire MLB career with the team. The Nats, surprisingly, non-tendered him a contract in November.

According to a report from Robert Murray of FanSided, the market for former Nationals relief pitcher Kyle Finnegan is beginning to pick up "significantly."

Finnegan was projected to earn a deal in arbitration that would have approached the $10 million dollar range, and after a rough finish to the year Washington elected to cut ties instead of paying him what he would have made in arbitration.

The decision to part ways was likely made after shopping him on the trade market and not receiving a lot of interest, so seeing Finnegan still remain as a free agent is not a huge shock.

One team which could make a lot of sense is an organization that's been connected to Finnegan earlier this winter in the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs finished second in the Tanner Scott sweepstakes to the Los Angeles Dodgers, appear to still be in the market for a reliever, and Finnegan would likely come at a bargain.

For the 2024 season as a whole, Finnegan put up very respectable numbers with a 3.68 ERA and 38 saves in 65 appearances. But it was a tale of two halves for the 33-year-old, posting a 2.32 ERA through late July before finishing the year with a disastrous 6.43 ERA over his final 21 appearances, likely why the Nationals decided not to spend the arbitration number and simply move in a different direction instead.

In addition to Chicago, there are many teams that are still looking for help in the bullpen and the options across the league are beginning to dwindle.

Seeing what kind of deal Finnegan eventually lands will be fascinating to monitor given the fact he is arguably the most attractive option left.

Over his five year Washington career, the right-hander has posted an ERA of 3.56 in 291 appearances, all of them coming out of the bullpen. His 88 saves land him Top 10 in franchise history and was generall steady and reliable coming into games in relief.

Seeing him go stings a bit and will be tough to replace, and the Nationals deciding bringing him back is not in their best interest will be scrutinized and evaluated throughout the 2025 season depending on the performance of his replacement.