What Reliever Kyle Finnegan Is Doing for Tigers Right Now Is Unreal
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The Detroit Tigers went into this season knowing that they would have one of the better back-end bullpens in Major League Baseball. Adding Kenley Jansen completed the three-headed monster, as he accompanies Will Vest, who emerged as the closer in 2025, and last year's trade deadline acquisition Kyle Finnegan.
Out of the three, Vest has struggled the most out of the gate, posting a 6.75 ERA in 6.2 innings pitched. Jansen just recorded a historic save that bumped him up in the all-time saves leader category, but still faces some tight situations on the mound. Finnegan has been lights out.
Finnegan is Detroit's Obvious Bullpen Weapon
Most fans will remember the 2025 trade deadline being an absolute bust for the Tigers, having added several players with only one panning out the way they had expected. That was Finnegan. Acquired from the Washington Nationals, he has been lights out in his career in Detroit.
Coming over to the American League, Finnegan ended the season with an ERA of 3.47, and while that seems middle of the pack, his best performances have been as a Tiger. Following the trade, Finnegan posted a 1.50 ERA with Detroit, helping the front office seal the deal that they wanted him back for a couple more seasons.
Finnegan signed a two-year contract worth $19 million with the Tigers this offseason, and so far in his second season with Detroit, he has proven to be a valuable investment. He has yet to allow a run in 2026 and boasts a remarkable 1.04 ERA over 26 innings pitched with the team.
There are still some things that Finnegan would like to clean up about his game, such as his tendency to walk batters, which has already allowed seven this year in eight innings pitched. But when hitters are making contact, more times than not, it's hit on the ground.
He's only blown one save as a Tiger, just proving that manager A.J. Hinch can turn to him at any point in the game and he will get the job done. While Jansen looks to be the closer for the year in Detroit, if Finnegan continues this kind of performance, he should easily get more opportunities over Vest (at the time of writing this).
The bullpen might have started shaky for the Tigers, but Finnegan is the real deal and continues to prove it each time he's on the mound. If Detroit had let him walk and he put up these kinds of numbers elsewhere, the front office wouldn't hear the end of it.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.