The Chicago Cubs have had a busy offseason, but it seems there is still some work to be done if they hope to break their playoff drought in 2025.
The team traded away former Most Valuable Player Award winner Cody Bellinger in a surprising trade with the New York Yankees. And they replaced him with another surprise deal that landed All-Star slugger Kyle Tucker.
The team has also signed starters Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea to flesh out the rotation, leaving its bullpen as perhaps the only area in need of a significant upgrade.
With that in mind, Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer predicted the Cubs would sign one of the top remaining “under-the-radar” free agents by adding All-Star reliever Kyle Finnegan this winter.
“In Kyle Finnegan’s wake is an All-Star season in which he was third in the majors with 38 saves,” Rymer noted. “He averaged 97.2 mph on his fastball in 2024, so his arm is clearly of the ‘live’ variety. It’s also no accident that he tends to have reverse splits, as his split-finger fastball has held lefty batters to an average in the .100s in four of his five seasons.”
Finnegan racked up 38 saves in his 2024 campaign with the Washington Nationals, though he was hit for a 3.68 ERA as well. Rymer added that he might have some work to do if he’s going to emerge as a true closer option for the Cubs, but that there is some potential for Finnegan to build on his All-Star campaign in 2025 and beyond.
“Finnegan lacks a reliable outpitch against righties, where the work would need to be done,” Rymer wrote. “Either his slider needs to get a better shape, or he needs to scrap it in favor of the best weapon a righty pitcher can have versus righty batters: a sweeper.”
Still, after emerging as one of Major League Baseball’s top saves total leaders in 2024, Finnegan is projected for a significant contract going forward. Spotrac projects his market value at $24.9 million over two years.
If the Cubs are looking for some finishing touches to their roster this offseason, Finnegan could be one of the few high-upside options available to bolster their bullpen.
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