Tigers shore up bullpen with Kyle Finnegan, Paul Sewald

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The Tigers beefed up their bullpen Thursday by acquiring reliever Paul Sewald from the Guardians and closer Kyle Finnegan from the Nationals.

Detroit sent a player to be named or cash considerations to Cleveland and traded pitching prospects Josh Randall and R.J. Sales to Washington.

Sewald, 35, currently is on the 15-day injured list with a strain in his right shoulder. He is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA and two saves in 18 relief appearances during his first season with the Guardians.

The former Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks closer is 21-26 with 86 saves and a 4.11 ERA in 377 relief appearances after starting his career with the New York Mets in 2017.

The 33-year-old Finnegan, who was born in Detroit, is 1-4 with a 4.38 ERA and 20 saves in 40 appearances for the Nationals this season.

An All-Star in 2024, Finnegan is 23-30 with a 3.66 ERA and 108 saves in 331 career games (zero starts) since making his MLB debut with Washington in 2020. The right-hander has struck out 320 batters in 329 1/3 innings.

Randall, 22, was a third-round pick by Detroit in 2024 and is 5-5 with a 3.92 ERA in 17 starts this season, with all but one of the right-hander’s starts coming for Single-A Lakeland.

Sales, 22, was a 10th-round draft pick by the Tigers in 2024. The right-hander is 4-3 with a 2.71 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) this season at Single-A Lakeland.

The Tigers also designated right-handed pitcher Matt Manning, a former top prospect, for assignment.

Manning, 27, made 50 starts for the Tigers since they selected him with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft out of high school in Sacramento, Calif. He has a career record of 11-15 with a 4.43 ERA and made his major league debut on June 17, 2021.

–Field Level Media