Nats deal Finnegan to Tigers, Call to Dodgers as deadline passes (updated)

The Nationals made only two more deals before this evening's trade deadline passed, sending Kyle Finnegan to the Tigers and Alex Call to the Dodgers, ultimately choosing to retain two veterans on expiring contracts and a host of players under club control headlined by MacKenzie Gore.

The 6 p.m. deadline passed with no last-minute moves, according to a club source. The Nats listened to offers for Gore and explored deals for Josh Bell and Paul DeJong but did not find any that met their demands.

Thus was interim general manager Mike DeBartolo more active on the days leading up to July 31 than he was on the actual deadline day. The Nationals dealt four veterans (Amed Rosario, Andrew Chafin, Luis Garcia, Michael Soroka) set to become free agents over the last week. They then wrapped up the late-July feeding frenzy with two moves this afternoon. They received 10 prospects total in return, six of them pitchers.

"I feel excited about what we did the last few days, getting some really exciting young players to bolster our farm system," DeBartolo said. "At a high level, we were just looking at the roster, taking opportunities where whatever was in the long-term best interests of the Nationals, and getting as many young players as we could to get back to where we want to be next year and beyond."

The Nats traded Finnegan to the Tigers for two starting pitching prospects drafted last year, dealing their veteran closer to a contender after passing on comparable opportunities to do so the last two seasons. The trade sends the 33-year-old reliever to Detroit for right-handers Josh Randall and R.J. Sales.

A much-discussed name the previous two trade deadlines, Finnegan was retained each time by former general manager Mike Rizzo, who didn’t feel the offers made by other clubs were commensurate with his view of the durable, dependable reliever’s true value.

This time around, with Finnegan set to become a free agent at season’s end, there was less reason for DeBartolo to hold onto his closer for the next two months.

The right-hander’s departure, though, leaves a black hole in an already thin and shaky Nationals bullpen that sent Chafin and Garcia to the Angels on Wednesday. Interim manager Miguel Cairo’s closer options now include left-hander Jose A. Ferrer and rookie right-handers Cole Henry and Zach Brzykcy.

Originally signed in 2020 to a major league deal after six seasons spent in the Athletics organization without a promotion, Finnegan debuted for the Nationals that summer and stayed on the big league roster his entire time here. He began closing part-time in August 2021 following the trades of Daniel Hudson and Brad Hand and became the full-time closer in 2023, ultimately racking up 108 saves (only five shy of Chad Cordero’s club record).

Never spending a day on the injured list, Finnegan averaged fewer than one strikeout per inning and thus gave up more contact than most major league closers. But he went on several sustained runs of dominance the last three seasons and from 2021-24 delivered a 3.62 ERA while averaging 66 appearances.

Leery of paying him the $8 million or $9 million he likely would have received via arbitration last winter, the Nationals non-tendered Finnegan, then waited until spring training to re-sign him at the reduced salary of $6 million (with $4 million of that deferred). He opened the season strong and as recently as July 10 sported a 2.36 ERA and 18 saves in 23 opportunities, only to be roughed up three times in a span of four appearances that caused his ERA to balloon to 4.62.

Prior to that slump, though, Finnegan did author back-to-back, 1-2-3 innings to close out victories over the Tigers, giving his new team a good look at the best version of himself. He also bounced back in the last week with scoreless appearances in both Minnesota and Houston, including his final save conversion for the Nationals in Monday’s 2-1 win over the Astros.

"Just a big part of the Nationals' last few years, and a real class act," DeBartolo said. "When I spoke to Kyle, I emphasized that as much as I could, that we're really appreciative how he conducted himself on the field and in the clubhouse as a leader for the Nationals. We'll certainly miss him and rooting for him from afar."

In Randall and Sales, the Nats receive two young pitching prospects who come with some promise.

Randall, the Tigers’ third-round pick in the 2024 draft out of the University of San Diego, is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander who spent most of this season at Single-A Lakeland, going 5-5 with a 4.18 ERA and 1.341 WHIP in 16 starts. He was recently promoted to High-A West Michigan, where he allowed one unearned run with six strikeouts and zero walks in five innings in his debut outing. The 22-year-old was rated Detroit’s 15th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Sales was the Tigers’ 10th-round pick last summer out of UNC-Wilmington, a slender 6-foot, 170-pound righty who didn’t rank among the organization’s top 30 prospects but went 4-3 with a 2.71 ERA and 1.116 WHIP in 16 games (15 starts) for Lakeland in his first professional season.

Call became the and only first player under club control beyond this season traded by DeBartolo. The 30-year-old outfielder did a nice job in limited time, starting against left-handed pitching and coming off the bench to bat .274 with a .374 on-base percentage and .756 OPS in 72 games this year. Originally acquired off waivers from the Guardians in 2022, he finishes his Nationals career with a .714 OPS in 265 games over parts of four seasons.

With Dylan Crews close to returning from an oblique strain, the Nats were looking at a crowded outfield picture. James Wood is entrenched in left field, and Crews will either start in center or right field. The Call trade opens the door for the team to keep both Jacob Young and Daylen Lile on the major league roster, with Robert Hassell III scratched from tonight's lineup at Triple-A Rochester and expected to be in D.C. for Friday's game against the Brewers.

"That was a factor," DeBartolo said. "I am a big fan of Alex and how he plays, and the versatility he brings, his approach at the plate, everything he brings to the table. Ultimately, that's one area - the outfield - where we do have more options and are a little bit deeper."

In exchange for Call, who still has four years of club control, the Nationals receive two young right-handers who ranked among the Dodgers' top 20 prospects. Eriq Swan, 23, was the Dodgers' fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft and had a 4.43 ERA and 1.377 WHIP in 16 games (14 starts) for High-A Great Lakes. Sean Paul Linan, 20, was signed out of Colombia and had a 2.78 ERA and 1.090 WHIP in 18 games (14 starts) this season, mostly at Great Lakes. He also made two starts in May at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Despite plenty of interest from contending clubs, DeBartolo ultimately wasn't willing to part ways with Gore, the 26-year-old All-Star who was one of the key players acquired in the Juan Soto blockbuster deal three years ago and still has two more seasons under club control.

"We value him very highly, obviously, as an All-Star starting pitcher under control for two more years," the interim GM said. "He's a big part of our team, a big part of the club going forward. In my position, you listen on anything that's brought to you, and you consider every scenario. And ultimately where we came out, we value MacKenzie so highly and just thought it was better for the Nationals to keep him."

The same logic applied to others under club control beyond 2025, including Lowe, Young and second baseman Luis García Jr.

"We listened. We evaluated every opportunity and were open-minded and listening on any situation, any players," DeBartolo said. "That's what I view my job as: Being open to any opportunity that gets brought before us. So we considered all sorts of different scenarios. But ultimately, most of those that came together that made sense for us were on those guys that were on expiring deals."