Everything changed for Kyle Finnegan at the 2025 trade deadline.
It’s when he joined the Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers acquired the 34-year-old right-handed reliever from the Washington Nationals at the July 31 deadline, then instructed him to throw more splitters and fewer fastballs for the first time in his career – and thanks to the adjustment, he experienced more success than ever before.
But Finnegan doesn’t want to do the same thing in 2026.
“It was a great adjustment for me, but I think you got to understand that the league will adjust to your adjustment,” Finnegan said, “so it’s finding ways to stay ahead of the curve. The increased splitter usage is something that I will continue to do, but I think mixing in my slider – you know, I do have a slider that I can throw.”
After Finnegan became a free agent, the Tigers re-signed him to a two-year, $16.75 million contract with a $10 million mutual option. The deal is guaranteed to be worth at least $19 million over two years because of the $2.25 million buyout on the mutual option, but it can max out at three years and $27.75 million.
The two sides were always interested in a reunion.
They agreed to a new contract Dec. 9 at MLB’s Winter Meetings.
“I did have a fair amount of interest, so I just tried to navigate those teams and the offers,” Finnegan said. “I knew that the Tigers were going to be there all the way. It finally came together. I was super excited to be back and happy with the result.”
“Ultimately, it becomes an exercise in trying to find alignment on something that makes sense from the club side and from the player side,” general manager Jeff Greenberg said. “Obviously, Kyle earned the right and the opportunity to see what his market was, but throughout that process, we stayed very engaged with his representation, and we had very healthy conversations.”
In 2025, Finnegan registered a 3.47 ERA with 18 walks and 55 strikeouts across 57 innings in 56 games for the Nationals (40 games) and the Tigers (16 games), securing 24 saves in 31 chances.
The Tigers turned Finnegan into a multi-inning reliever capable of pitching in any high-leverage situation.
“I’m hungrier than ever,” Finnegan said. “I’m not complacent now that I’ve got some security. I think this is an opportunity to push it even more and look for more advantages to prove my game even more. I want to play this game for as long as I can, and to do that, you have to constantly adjust and consistently get better.”
Before the trade, Finnegan registered a 4.37 ERA with a 19.6% strikeout rate for the Nationals. After the trade, he logged a 1.50 ERA with a 34.8% strikeout rate for the Tigers.
The reason for those results?
He changed his pitch mix after the trade, shifting from 65.7% fastballs and 29.6% splitters with the Nationals to 40.9% fastballs and 54.8% splitters with the Tigers.
The red flags?
As he kept increasing the splitter usage, the swing-and-miss rate on the splitter trended in the wrong direction: 51% in August, 26.1% in September and 21.9% in October.
Hitters adjusted quickly to Finnegan’s new splitter-heavy approach, refusing to swing at fastballs while keying on swinging at splitters to put the ball in play. Opponents hit .038 against the splitter in August, then .364 in September and .278 in October.
That’s why the slider will be key moving forward.
“I’ll add that wrinkle in there and continue to work on my fastball, not only the location but the metrics,” said Finnegan, who threw just 4.6% sliders with the Nationals and 2.9% sliders with the Tigers, including zero sliders for the Tigers in the postseason. “I had a huge amount of success there when I made the initial change. I think there’s more meat on that bone.”
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
The redefined attack plan continues to revolve around more splitters and fewer fastballs, only with more sliders involved.
Additionally, Finnegan plans to tweak the location of his fastball. He is prepared to snipe fastballs at the bottom rail of the strike zone more often, rather than relying solely on elevated heaters.
“When I’m throwing more splitters, I need to be aware of using my fastball at the bottom of the zone,” Finnegan said, “so it doesn’t just become, if it’s down, it’s a splitter, if it’s up, it’s a fastball. Finding ways to keep the hitter guessing and off balance. That’s the name of the game.”
The primary reason Finnegan wants to make those adjustments is because he remains eager to help the Tigers in their pursuit of winning the American League Central for the first time since 2014 – and advancing beyond the ALDS for the first time since 2013.
Finnegan allowed one earned run in each of the three games he appeared in during the best-of-five ALDS in 2025, including one run in the seventh inning of a 15-inning marathon in Game 5, when the Seattle Mariners eliminated the Tigers.
The loss still motivates him.
“There’s a feeling of unfinished business,” Finnegan said. “We accomplished so much, but at the end of the day, there’s only one team that’s happy at the end of the year, and unfortunately, it wasn’t us. That’s the mission every year.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Tigers’ Kyle Finnegan is tweaking his pitching strategy in 2026
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
