Sometimes in baseball, the right move doesn’t need a pitch deck, a scouting summit, or a 10-paragraph explanation from a front office press release. Sometimes it’s just right there, staring you in the face, daring you to overthink it.
For the Detroit Tigers, that move is bringing back Kyle Finnegan.
After Detroit pried him loose from the Washington Nationals at the 2025 trade deadline, Finnegan didn’t just wear the uniform — he changed inside it. New pitch usage. Different leverage situations. A broader role beyond just the ninth inning. And what happened? He became the best version of himself.
Now, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press is reporting that there’s mutual interest in a reunion. And honestly? It feels less like rumor and more like inevitability.
Re-signing Kyle Finnegan in free agency makes almost too much sense for Tigers
Too often, trade-deadline acquisitions are just rentals. Guys show up, throw the same stuff they always have, and walk at season’s end. But that wasn’t the case with Finnegan.
The Tigers leaned into his strengths, encouraged him to adjust his mix, and trusted him in more than just one cookie-cutter bullpen role. He wasn’t just the guy who jogged in with a lead and hoped for the best. He was the guy who could handle a fire in the seventh, slam the door in the ninth, or stabilize a bullpen that desperately needed a spine.
Detroit doesn’t need to chase some mystery closer from across the league and hope he adapts. They already watched one adapt in real time. This is exactly the kind of free-agent decision teams that lack foresight screw up by trying to get cute. They chase bigger names, flashier résumés and riskier profiles; meanwhile, the right guy is already in the house, already comfortable and already proven in your environment.
Finnegan isn’t just a reliever the Tigers like. He’s one they know works. Re-signing him wouldn’t just fix a bullpen issue. It would signal something Tigers fans are hungry to see: continuity, seriousness and progression. It would say that the Tigers recognized what worked and aren’t afraid to invest in what they improved.
The Tigers are no longer the cute rebuilding project. Expectations are rising, young talent is arriving, and there’s a real sense that the next season is about winning –– not just discovering. You don’t enter that phase without stabilizing your bullpen, and you don’t ignore the guy who already helped you do it.
If Detroit is serious about turning the corner, this is the kind of free-agent move you make with confidence — not hesitation. Finnegan found something in Detroit, and Detroit found something in Finnegan.
Don’t overthink this, Detroit. Re-sign him. Lock it in. Move forward. This is the Tigers’ easiest decision of the winter — and maybe their smartest one, too.
