So this is awkward; after saving 38 games with a 3.56 ERA in 2024, the Washington Nationals unceremoniously designated Kyle Finnegan for assignment. Three months later, the Nationals just as unceremoniously resigned Finnegan to a one-year, six-million-dollar deal. This, no doubt, leaves us with a few questions:

Why did the Nationals nontender Finnegan in the first place? Where does Kyle Finnegan fit into the bullpen now? What did the Nationals gain (or lose) by resigning Finnegan now?

Finne(gone)

There are a couple of plausible hypotheses for letting Finnegan go at season’s end. The first is salary. Look, I don’t know what to believe at this point about what Mike Rizzo’s budget looked like and how much influence ownership had over Rizzo’s actions. I am NOT opening that can of worms without more information. However, if Rizzo only had a budget of about 50 million to work with, freeing up the 8.6 million Finnegan was projected to earn would give Rizzo a little more flexibility to sign bigger name players like -- checks notes -- Paul de Jong? Trevor Williams?

The decision to nontender Finnegan could also have been entirely performance-related. Sure, Finnegan saved 38 games with a mid-3s ERA, but there were plenty of worrying numbers under the hood, such as a FIP and xFIP, both a half run higher than his ERA. Additionally, while Finnegan’s fastball was electric, his splitter, the only other pitch he threw more than 5% last year, had movement and command well below league average.

The case to nontender Finnegan on either solely performance or solely money is fairly weak, so I’m a little quizzical about the decision. Either way, though, Finnegan is back, and we need to ask what happens now.

Somehow Finnegan Returned

Yes, that’s a Star Wars reference. If you know, you know. With that silliness out of the way, we need to now ask how he’s going to slot into this bullpen. Ultimately, Finnegan will probably be (and should be) the closer on opening day. Finnegan’s 88 career saves are more than Jorge Lopez (38), Derek Law (13), and Jose A. Ferrer (1) combined. I doubt, though, that the role is permanently Finnegan’s. Nontendering him showed a massive degree of distrust in Finnegan as an MLB closer; no other team signing Finnegan before Spring Training showed that the Nationals were not alone in their sentiment. If Finnegan struggles early, Davey and Rizzo may pivot quickly to other back-end options.

So what’s the grade?

On balance, this is probably a win for the Nationals as they get their All-Star closer back 25% cheaper than they expected. Yeah, sure, it may have damaged the relationship between Finnegan and the team, but honestly, with a reliever on a one-year deal, who cares? If Finnegan is good, then the Nationals have significantly strengthened their bullpen and can either lean on him down the stretch as if in a playoff push or dangle him as trade bait if not. If Finnegan is bad, it’s a reliever on a one-year deal for no money.