Kyle Finnegan’s rocky road to the majors is giving Tigers NRIs hope

The Detroit Tigers brought back reliever Kyle Finnegan on a two-year deal this past offseason. While he is a solid reliever, his presence on the team also serves as an inspirational blueprint for non-roster invitees on the team who can look at his path to success as something to emulate.

Finnegan did not make his big league debut until the age of 28 with the Washington Nationals. Drafted by the Athletics in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft, he toiled away in the minor leagues looking for an opportunity. It never came with Oakland, but he got his shot in Washington D.C. and never looked back.

He went on to have some really solid seasons with the Nationals and even made the National League All-Star team in 2024. He recorded 38 saves that season and it was that solid production that led the Tigers to trade for him last season.

The Detroit native pitched really well for the Tigers after coming over in that trade. He had a 1.50 ERA in 16 appearances and pitched pretty well when he got the ball in the playoffs last season. A tweak made by the Tigers coaching staff that had him throw a lot more splitters paid off as his numbers improved greatly after a rough start to the 2025 season with Washington.

Tigers NRI pitchers can look to Kyle Finnegan as an example of a late bloomer who found MLB success

Finnegan is now a key part of a pretty stacked Tigers bullpen that has three guys who could all be elite closers in their own right. Kenley Jansen and Will Vest can be dominant as well so the Tigers will have to feel good when they have a lead in the late innings this season.

While Finnegan's roster spot is assured, there are still guys in spring training trying to earn a spot. His path to the majors could serve as an inspiration to someone like Cole Waites, a 28-year-old non-roster invite who has pitched a little in the big leagues with the San Francisco Giants but not to great success. He has been pretty solid in spring training thus far, allowing just one earned run in 2 and 2/3 innings of work.

Relievers are a fascinating breed because one day a guy who has struggled through the minors can find something and become a solid big league pitcher seemingly overnight. That is the beauty of Finnegan's story and it's why Tigers pitchers in camp can look up to him.