MLB trade grades: Tigers land exact bullpen help they needed desperately

Detroit strikes another deadline deal to bolster its pitching staff for the stretch run.
Philadelphia Phillies v Washington Nationals
Philadelphia Phillies v Washington Nationals | Patrick Smith/GettyImages

Pitching continues to be a point of emphasis for the Detroit Tigers leading up to the trade deadline on July 31 at 6 p.m. ET. Whether it be rotation or bullpen help, the American League Central leaders are relentlessly bolstering their staff. Their latest addition is perhaps the most notable, landing veteran reliever Kyle Finnegan from the Washington Nationals.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic broke the news that Finnegan is headed from D.C. to Detroit. Andrew Golden of The Washington Post was the first to report that Washington will receive Tigers prospects Josh Randall and R.J. Sales for the right-hander.

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MLB trade grades: Detroit adds Kyle Finnegan to new bullpen additions

Randall is a right-handed starter and the No. 15-ranked player in Detroit's loaded farm system. The 2024 third-round pick has fared decently this season, making 16 starts with the Tigers' Low-A affiliate and one at the High-A level. He's 5-5 with a 3.92, 1.320 WHIP and 70 strikeouts across 80.1 innings of work.

Sales isn't featured among the Tigers' top 30 minor leaguers, but like Randall, he's a right-handed starter. The 22-year-old has been excellent in A-ball in 2025, sporting 4-3 win-loss record with a 2.71 ERA, 1.116 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 66.1 innings.

Detroit gives up two expendable pieces from their pipeline to solidify their group of late-inning arms, which has been an area of weakness for them. Despite being among baseball's best squads, Tigers relievers are 20th in the MLB in collective ERA (4.16) and 21st in batting average against (.249). Finnegan gives a proven fireman they can trust to extinguish a flame that should help remedy their relief shortcomings.

Finnegan doesn't produce a ton of strikeouts, but he's a solid pitch-to-contact hurler. He does an excellent job of keeping the ball in the park, generating grounders and allowing weak hits. His 1.8 percent home run rate and 38.8 percent hard hit rate are both below their respective league averages. Conversely, the one-time All-Star's 47.4 ground-ball percentage is above average.

Whether Finnegan supplants Will Vest as the Tigers' primary closer remains to be seen. Either way, he gives manager A.J. Hinch another reliable option to consider, and it didn't cost Detroit a signifcant haul to do so.

Tigers trade grade: A-
Nationals trade grade: B