The New York Yankees recently made the decision to demote Devin Williams out of the closer role, presumably elevating breakout star Luke Weaver in his place. This is quite the shocking decision considering the Yankees made a blockbuster trade for the righty in the offseason.
But Williams has been horrendous, and he desperately needed some of the pressure off his back. Having Weaver is a solid backup plan, but this situation puts an emphasis on the importance of high-leverage bullpen depth.
With that in mind, the Yankees may look to swing a blockbuster trade for a closer before the MLB Trade Deadline. A deal with the Washington Nationals for closer Kyle Finnegan would help patch this hole for the Yankees.
To be clear here, trading for Finnegan wouldn’t be to add a closer to replace Williams. It would be to add another high-leverage arm to take some of the pressure off Williams and Weaver.
Finnegan hasn’t been an elite option, and the Yankees had a chance to bring him in during the offseason, but they need bullpen arms more down the stretch than they did during the offseason.
It’s likely the Nationals will fall out of postseason contention at some point. They’re already a few games under .500 with a loaded division ahead of them.
Once they fall out of postseason contention, assuming they do, trading Finnegan will likely be on their to-do list.
The Yankees could acquire him for cheap and plug him in as a late-inning relief option in manager Aaron Boone’s bullpen.
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