Kyle Finnegan's injury has Tigers fans concerned, but bullpen delivered emphatically

It's no secret that the Detroit Tigers' bullpen has been shaky for much of the season, so fans immediately held their breath when their best reliever appeared to suffer an injury mid-warmup on Wednesday.

Right-hander Kyle Finnegan, whom the Tigers acquired from the Washington Nationals at the MLB trade deadline, experienced right groin tightness while warming up in the bullpen during the Tigers' series finale against the New York Mets. Finnegan didn't pitch in the game, and manager AJ Hinch had no update on the status of his injury during his postgame media availability, other than to say that he "wasn't available."

Since joining the Tigers, Finnegan has pitched 14 1/3 scoreless innings with three walks and 19 strikeouts in 12 games. He is also a perfect 4-for-4 in save opportunities during that span. He has been a stabilizing force in the Tigers' bullpen over the last month, assuaging a lot of concerns about the readiness of Detroit's pitching staff to go on a deep postseason run.

That said, Finnegan's 14 1/3 innings in August were the most in any month of his six-year MLB career. While we don't yet know the severity of his groin injury, it's certainly possible that overuse is a primary culprit, and the Tigers need their other relievers to step up and lighten some of the load on their closer.

Tigers fans exhale after Kyle Finnegan update as bullpen steps up in promising manner

With Finnegan unavailable, the Tigers turned to Will Vest and Rafael Montero to get the final seven outs against the Mets. They did just that, holding New York to just one hit and two walks with no runs over the final 1 1/3 innings to secure the 6-2 win for Detroit.

Vest and Montero stepped up following a strong 1 1/3 innings by a resurgent Tommy Kahnle, who has now pitched six consecutive scoreless innings. Kahnle had allowed 22 runs over his previous 13 1/3 innings, earning a relegation to low-leverage situations only.

Make no mistake – the Tigers need Finnegan to be healthy if they have a shot at making deep playoff run. But the bullpen's ability to step up in his absence on Wednesday was a promising sign that the Tigers have the kind of depth in their relief core that's necessary for October baseball.