KYLE FINNEGAN NEWS

Inks one-year deal Finnegan signed a one-year, $2.325 million contract with the Nationals on Friday to avoid arbitration, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Impact 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.

JANUARY 13, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Throws two innings in win Finnegan (6-4) earned the win Wednesday in extra innings against Atlanta. He allowed no runs on one hit and no walks while striking out one over two innings.

Impact 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.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Braves fall to Nationals 3-2 on Abrams walk-off hit in 10th

CJ Abrams’ third hit of the game drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th to give the Washington Nationals a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Collects 11th save Finnegan didn't allow a hit or walk and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Wednesday against Atlanta.

Impact 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.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Meneses' 8th-inning HR snaps Braves' 5-game winning streak

Joey Meneses hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Jesse Chavez in the seventh inning, and the Washington Nationals stopped the Atlanta Braves’ five-game winning streak with a 3-2 vict...

SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Picks up save 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.

Impact Finnegan was lights out Saturday, tossing 9 of 14 pitches for strikes to earn the save. Finnegan now has saves in back-to-back appearances after 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.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Thomas hits 1 of 4 homers in Nationals' 5-3 win over Marlins

Lane Thomas got things started with a leadoff homer for the Washington Nationals and they ended up hitting four solo shots in a 5-3 victory over the Miami Marlins

SEPTEMBER 17, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Collects ninth save 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.

Impact 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.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Bohm's HR helps Phils beat Nats after 3 1/2-hour rain delay

Alec Bohm hit the go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-5 win over the Washington Nationals in a game interrupted 3 hours, 36 minut...

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wainwright, Molina tie battery record in Cards' loss to Nats

Yadier Molina homered twice on a day he paired with St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright to tie the major league record fof 324 starts by a battery in an 11-6 loss to the Wa...

SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sánchez earns first win since 2020, Nationals beat A's 5-1

Aníbal Sánchez earned his first victory in nearly two years, Luke Voit hit a two-run homer and the Washington Nationals beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sharp in seventh save Finnegan struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Friday's 6-3 win over the Padres.

Impact 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.

AUGUST 20, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Hader melts down in 9th, gives Nationals 6-3 win over Padres

Victor Robles scored the go-ahead run on Josh Hader’s wild three-base throwing error and rookie Alex Call followed with his first career home run, a two-run shot, as the Washington...

AUGUST 20, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Records shaky save Finnegan registered a save against the Padres on Thursday, walking two batters and notching one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.

Impact Finnegan threw only seven of 19 pitches for strikes and walked two of the first three batters he faced, but he was able to escape with the save after inducing a game-ending double play. Carl Edwards Jr., who has picked up a pair of saves recently, looked better in the contest (he tossed a perfect frame and notched the win), but Finnegan is probably still the favorite for closing opportunities for now. He's gone 5-for-6 in save chances since the All-Star break.

AUGUST 19, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Nationals rally against Darvish, Hader to beat Padres 3-1

Nelson Cruz drew a bases-loaded walk off Josh Hader to bring in the go-ahead run with one out in the ninth inning and the Washington Nationals beat the San Diego Padres 3-1

AUGUST 19, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Collects fifth save 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.

Impact 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.

AUGUST 16, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Cruz's eighth-inning homer lifts Nationals over Cubs 5-4

Nelson Cruz hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning to lift the Washington Nationals to a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs

AUGUST 16, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Blocking the plate call on review helps Nats top Padres 4-3

San Diego and new slugger Juan Soto repeatedly failed to come through in the clutch against his former club, and the last-place Washington Nationals beat the wild-card-chasing Padr...

AUGUST 14, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Notches third win 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.

Impact 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.

AUGUST 10, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Meneses hits 2-run HR in 8th as Nationals beat Cubs 6-5

Joey Meneses hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, Keibert Ruiz went deep twice and the Washington Nationals regrouped after blowing a three-run lead, beating the Chic...

AUGUST 10, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Delivers five-out save Finnegan saved Saturday's 7-6 win against the Cardinals, recording the final five outs in order. He failed to notch a strikeout.

Impact 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 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.

JULY 31, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Bell hits 3-run HR to rally Nationals past Cardinals 7-6

Josh Bell hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and the Washington Nationals rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6

JULY 31, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Locks down third save 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.

Impact 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.

JULY 26, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Future Dodger? Juan Soto, lowly Nats cool off LA in 4-1 win

Juan Soto’s RBI triple capped a four-run fifth inning and the lowly Washington Nationals defeated the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1

JULY 26, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nabs five-out save Finnegan pitched 1.2 perfect innings to earn the save in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Impact 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.

JULY 25, 2022 • ROTOWIRE