Kyle Finnegan Injury Tigers Bullpen 2025
🐯 Kyle Finnegan Injury: Detroit’s First-Place Bullpen Faces a September Test (2025)
The Detroit Tigers are playing from a position of strength—a commanding 8.5-game lead in the AL Central—but September just threw them a curveball. The club placed right-hander Kyle Finnegan on the 15-day injured list (retro to Sept. 1) with a right adductor (groin) strain suffered while warming up midweek. The team characterizes it as mild, and the expectation is an in-season return before the playoffs. In other words: not a crisis, but definitely a storyline.
Finnegan has been everything Detroit hoped for and more since arriving at the deadline. Used as both a closer and a setup weapon, he’s been spectacular: 14⅓ scoreless innings, 19 strikeouts, and four saves without allowing a run. The results have matched the eye test—his splitter has given hitters a different plane to worry about, and his fastball has played up in leverage. Losing that late-inning trump card stings, even for a division leader.
What exactly is the injury?
It’s a right adductor (groin) strain, sustained while warming up—not in-game—during Detroit’s midweek series. The club and player both describe the issue as mild and manageable with rest. The plan: a brief shutdown, light activity, then a ramp back toward game action in mid-to-late September—with the postseason firmly in view.
Why it hurts—despite the 8.5-game cushion
The standings say Detroit can maintain that 8.5-game lead over Kansas City if they simply play to their season baseline. But tightening games in September often turn on the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings—precisely where Finnegan’s presence has stabilized things. His value hasn’t been just the final three outs; it’s been the flexibility to erase the opponent’s heart-of-the-order wherever it appears, then hand off a clean inning.
How A.J. Hinch can cover the innings (for now)
This will be a managerial chess match for A.J. Hinch—less about naming a replacement closer and more about leveraging matchups inning by inning.
- Will Vest: Has handled high-leverage pockets this year. When his fastball/slider combo is in the zone early, he can neutralize right-handed run producers.
- Rafael Montero: Veteran with closing experience who can sequence to contact in the zone when ahead. He doesn’t replicate Finnegan’s swing-and-miss splitter, but he can manage traffic if he stays off the heart.
- Tyler Holton: The lefty who can steal right-on-left matchups thanks to carry and angle. He’s key for bridge duty when the lineup turns.
- Tommy Kahnle: He’s been pitching better recently, and that trend needs to continue. He’s a one-trick pony with a change-up that somehow always seems to avoid bats.
The upshot: rather than a single “next man up” in the ninth, expect situational leverage lanes—Vest against right-right danger pockets, Holton to cut a lefty run, Montero to finish a clean inning or face a run of righties. Hinch has preferred leverage over labels all year; that won’t change.
Why the Tigers can still keep cruising
Context matters. Detroit isn’t clawing for a Wild Card—they’re leading the division by a wide margin. Their run differential and rotation form (Tarik Skubal & Co.) have carried them to this cushion, and the lineup—with Spencer Torkelson rediscovering lift and Parker Meadows back to reinforce outfield defense—has enough firepower to win games without threading a one-run needle every night.
Finnegan’s absence will be felt against elite opponents, but the remaining September schedule and the internal options should keep the ship steady. The real key is timing: getting Finnegan fully right before October so Hinch can deploy him either as a stopper in the eighth or as a ninth-inning closer—whichever the series demands.
What to watch over the next two weeks
- Usage clues: Who enters against the opponent’s 3-4-5 the first time a game gets dicey? That’s your “trust” barometer.
- Slider feel for Vest: Early count strikes open up chase later.
- Montero’s first-batter outcomes: He’s at his best when he wins the first pitch and keeps traffic minimal.
- Holton’s leverage: If he’s getting key lefties, the staff is leaning into matchup baseball until Finnegan returns.
- Ramp reports on Finnegan: You’ll see flat-ground → short side work → a brief sim → activation if all boxes are checked.
Bottom line
Yes, his loss hurts—he’s been spectacular in either role—but this is a manageable window for a first-place team. The target is simple: maintain the cushion, land the plane, and have Finnegan healthy for October. If Detroit does that, this IL stint will read like a small blip in an otherwise big season.
