Tigers add Finnegan, Heuer to revamped bullpen, then Morton

DETROIT -- The Tigers’ bullpen makeover continued Thursday afternoon with two more additions, one of which has multiple years of closing experience. Shortly after acquiring closer Kyle Finnegan from the Nationals for pitching prospects Josh Randall and R.J. Sales, Detroit landed righty Codi Heuer from the Rangers for cash considerations.

And then just before the 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline, the Tigers added veteran right-hander Charlie Morton from the Orioles in return for 6-foot-7 Double-A left-hander Micah Ashman. Morton, 41, was 7-8 with a 5.42 ERA in 23 games with Baltimore, 17 of them starts.

Finnegan and Heuer join fellow trade acquisitions Rafael Montero and Paul Sewald in a retinkered Tigers bullpen, though Sewald is currently on the injured list. The 33-year-old Finnegan has had the best season and biggest role of the group, recording 20 saves for the Nationals to go with a 1-4 record and 4.38 ERA in 40 appearances. Heuer, 29, has thrown just 1 1/3 innings in the Majors this season but has a 3.43 ERA across 35 outings, with four saves, at Triple-A.

TRADE DETAILS
Tigers get: RHP Kyle Finnegan
Nationals get: RHP Josh Randall (Tigers' No. 15 prospect), RHP R.J. Sales

TRADE DETAILS
Tigers get: RHP Codi Heuer
Rangers get: Cash considerations

TRADE DETAILS
Tigers get: RHP Charlie Morton
Orioles receive: Double-A LHP Micah Ashman

Born in Detroit but raised in Texas, Finnegan was a free-agent option for the Tigers last offseason but returned to Washington on a one-year, $6 million contract and reprised his role as the Nationals’ closer after being non-tendered last fall.

He is not the swing-and-miss type of late-inning arm the Tigers were believed to be seeking to diversify their relief corps; his 21.7 percent whiff rate ranks in the bottom quarter of MLB pitchers, according to Statcast, and his 19.6 percent strikeout rate ranks in the bottom third. But Finnegan thrives in limiting hard contact; his average exit velocity of 89.3 miles per hour ranks in the 53rd percentile, and his 38.8 percent hard hit rate ranks in the top third.

Finnegan has been durable since making his Major League debut in 2020 at age 28. The right-hander dealt with arm fatigue earlier this season, but he returned to the mound without issue.

Last season, Finnegan earned his first All-Star selection and recorded a career-best 38 saves (second most in the NL). He is 23-30 with a 3.66 ERA and 108 saves in his career, which began with seven years in the Athletics’ Minor League system before he reached the bigs with the Nats.

Both Randall and Sales were second-day picks from last year’s MLB Draft. Randall, a third-round pick out of the University of San Diego, ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Tigers system. He’d just been promoted to High-A West Michigan, tossing five innings with one unearned run allowed, no walks and six strikeouts in his Whitecaps debut. He went 5-5 with a 4.18 ERA in 16 starts for Single-A Lakeland before the promotion.

Sales, a 10th-round pick last year out of UNC-Wilmington, posted a 4-3 record and 2.71 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) for Lakeland.