When the St. Louis Cardinals traded away Ryan Helsley at the deadline, they never truly identified a long-term successor for their hard-throwing closer.
While JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien took over most of the save opportunities down the stretch, the team still lacks a clear in-house option capable of stepping into Helsley’s role — at least for now.
Unless Gordon Graceffo experiences a major developmental leap, the St. Louis Cardinals will likely need to explore free agency to find their next closer for the 2026 season.
Earlier, we discussed how Brad Keller could be a strong fit in St. Louis and potentially fill multiple bullpen needs at once. Now, attention turns to another intriguing option linked to the Cardinals by Jim Bowden of The Athletic — veteran reliever.
Kyle Finnegan: A Potential Sign-and-Flip Option for St. Louis
Since breaking out with the Washington Nationals during the shortened 2020 season, Finnegan has quietly become one of baseball’s most dependable relief arms — an impressive feat given how volatile bullpen performance can be.
From 2021 onward, the 34-year-old has compiled 3.4 WAR and 112 saves across stints with the Nationals and Detroit Tigers. He’s been a model of consistency, appearing in at least 56 games in each of the last five seasons while maintaining an ERA between 3.47 and 3.76 every year.
Finnegan’s 2025 campaign began on a rough note in Washington, but a trade to Detroit at the deadline completely revitalized his season. With the Tigers, he delivered arguably the best stretch of his career — notching four saves, striking out 23 batters, and surrendering just three runs over 18 innings of work.
For a Cardinals team searching for stability at the back end of the bullpen, Finnegan’s reliability and veteran experience could make him an ideal short-term closer — and potentially a valuable trade asset down the road.
While Kyle Finnegan has never quite reached elite closer status, his time in Detroit clearly helped him turn a corner. After joining the Tigers, he began relying more heavily on his splitter, which led to a major uptick in effectiveness — his groundball rate surged, and his strikeout rate spiked to an impressive 38.8% following his arrival in August. With the right coaching staff, the Cardinals could potentially help him build on that progress even further in 2026.
At 34 years old and fresh off his first career playoff appearance, Finnegan is likely seeking a solid payday from a contender this offseason. Still, Jim Bowden of The Athletic projects his market value at around $6 million per year. If he ends up settling for another short-term deal, St. Louis could seize the opportunity to sign him as a sign-and-flip candidate — a low-risk, high-reward move for a rebuilding club.
The Cardinals have already shown a willingness to deal short-term bullpen pieces at the trade deadline, and this could follow a similar pattern. While they’d likely need to offer Finnegan a slightly higher salary given their current non-contending status, signing him for the first half of the 2026 season and then flipping him for prospects in July could be a shrewd roster-building move for Chaim Bloom in his first full year leading the organization.