The New York Yankees made a blockbuster move to acquire star closer Devin Williams, but to begin the 2025 Major League Baseball season, it hasn’t worked out.
The Yankees removed Williams from the closer's role, and now, MLB analyst Zach Pressnell of Newsweek believes New York should trade for Washington Nationals star closer Kyle Finnegan.
“With that in mind, the Yankees may look to swing a blockbuster trade for a closer before the MLB Trade Deadline,” Pressnell wrote. “A deal with the Washington Nationals for closer Kyle Finnegan would help patch this hole for the Yankees…
“It's likely the Nationals will fall out of postseason contention at some point. They're already a few games under .500 with a loaded division ahead of them,” Pressnell added. “Once they fall out of postseason contention, assuming they do, trading Finnegan will likely be on their to-do list. The Yankees could acquire him for cheap and plug him in as a late-inning relief option in manager Aaron Boone's bullpen.”
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Finnegan may not replace Williams as the closer, but as Pressnell says, he would be a high-leverage reliever for the Yankees. Adding more high-leverage relievers is never a bad thing, and with Finnegan set to be a free agent, it likely wouldn’t cost much to get him.
Finnegan was an All-Star in 2024, but he struggled in the second half of the season. The right-hander ended up signing a one-year, $6 million deal to return to the Nationals after he didn’t get much interest in the offseason.
The right-hander is 0-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 11 games and is 9-for-10 on saves. In 2024, Finnegan went 3-8 with a 3.68 ERA and was 38-for-43 on saves.
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