Washington Nationals Make Questionable Decision to Non-Tender All-Star Closer

The Washington Nationals made a shocking decision to let their All-Star closer Kyle Finnegan become a free agent by non-tendering a contract to him on Friday.

Coming into the offseason, hopes were high for the Nationals. Despite winning just 71 games last season, there were a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the future. With a talented young core of talent in the lineup, it seems like the rebuild is coming to an end soon.

However, with free agency heating up, Washington decided to non-tender Finnegan.

With a year still under team control, this was a shocking move by the Nationals. Last season, the closer was named to his first All-Star team, as he had a fantastic first half of the season. Overall, the 33-year-old totaled a 3-8 record with 38 saves and a 3.68 ERA.

The decision to let their closer walk away for nothing doesn’t make a lot of sense for Washington, and isn’t something that many people were expecting.

One potential reason could have been due to his poor second half of the season. After the All-Star break, Finnegan totaled a 1-4 record with a 5.79 ERA and a WHIP of nearly 2.00.

The Nationals might have seen something in the second half of the campaign or this offseason that resulted in them letting their closer walk, but now it creates a lot of questions in their bullpen.

In addition to not-tendering their closer, they also let relief pitcher Tanner Rainey become a free agent. That decision wasn’t as surprising, but the bullpen is looking a little thin currently in Washington.

The Nationals have tendered contracts to all unsigned 40-man roster players with the exception of Kyle Finnegan and Tanner Rainey.

The team’s 40-man roster is at 36.
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) November 23, 2024

For a team that was projected to be adding this offseason, letting Finnegan become a free agent sends a bit of a mixed message.

On one hand, it could mean that the Nationals are trying to create as much money as possible to make a massive splash. On the other hand, it could be a sign that they aren’t ready to spend this offseason, which would likely result in another losing season.

With the 33-year-old becoming a free agent, it feels like a missed opportunity for general manager Mike Rizzo to either trade him this offseason, or furthers the point that they should have traded him during the season last year.

Now, they will be receiving nothing in return for a player who was an All-Star in 2024 and totaled 38 saves. That doesn’t seem like a wise decision at all for the Nationals.