Finnegan moves into second place on Nats' all-time saves list

When he stranded the tying run on third base Saturday afternoon to secure the Nationals’ 12-11 win over the Rockies, Kyle Finnegan was credited with his 95th career save, tied with Drew Storen for second-most in club history.

And when he stranded the tying run on third base Sunday afternoon to secure the Nationals’ 3-2 win over the Rockies, Finnegan moved ahead of Storen into sole possession of second place, his 96 career saves now trailing only Chad Cordero in club history.

The veteran reliever had a hard time comprehending that news.

“It’s crazy to think that I’m second. I feel like I just got here,” he said. “I still feel like a new guy in the league.”

Finnegan may feel like the new guy, but he hardly fits that description. He’s now in his sixth major league season, all of them coming with the Nats. Having debuted in the second game of the abbreviated 2020 season, he’s actually the longest tenured player on the current team, beating out Luis Garcia Jr. by a couple weeks.

So the save total really underscores just how much Finnegan has established himself with this organization, through good times and bad. When he joined the Nationals after six seasons stuck in the Athletics farm system, he was the rookie on a star-studded roster attempting to repeat at World Series champions. Daniel Hudson and Sean Doolittle anchored the bullpen. Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg led the rotation. Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Howie Kendrick formed the heart of the lineup.

Now, Finnegan is the 33-year-old veteran on a team loaded with talented players a decade younger than him. His absence during the first three weeks of spring training, before he and the team agreed on a $6 million contract after he was non-tendered over the winter, was noticeable and left a void.

The Nationals can only shudder to think how this season would look right now had they not brought Finnegan back. The majors’ worst bullpen owns an unsightly 7.19 ERA through 22 games. But take away Finnegan (1.86 ERA in nine appearances) and that number jumps to an even more disturbing 8.03.

Saturday’s game may have been the best example yet of his importance to this team. After three fellow relievers combined to give up eight runs in two innings and turn a blowout into a nailbiter, Finnegan locked down the bottom of the ninth to ensure this wouldn’t become the biggest blown lead in club history.

Sunday’s game wasn’t quite as dramatic, even though the margin of victory was the same. But it did leave Finnegan with some remarkably symbiotic career totals. He has now pitched in 300 games for the Nationals. He has totaled 300 innings. He has recorded exactly 300 strikeouts.

And he’s now 8-for-8 in save situations this season, having been the last man on the mound for all but one of the Nats’ nine wins so far.

Along the way, he passed Storen on the club’s saves list and suddenly has Chad Cordero well within his sights. Finnegan needs only 18 more saves to pass the Chief and move into first place.

The significance of those numbers isn’t lost on the guy who feels like he just got here.

“It’s just the culmination of a lot of work put in over the years to stay healthy and stay available,” he said. “I think saves are a team stat. You’ve got to be put in that situation. You’re just coming in to get the last three outs of the game. But the defense and the hitting and the starting pitching and the other relief are what led you to that point. You’ve just got to keep it going and finish it off.”