Hunter

Harvey

Hunter Harvey has looked better than Finnegan for the most part this season, but he gave up a run in 1 1/3 innings tonight. Then again, he did face better competition than Finnegan, who was up against Gavin Lux and Taylor Trammell before getting Mookie Betts to ground out to end the game. Finnegan is tied for the MLB lead with six saves in seven chances.

Harvey was hit on his non-throwing arm by a liner Tuesday and left the game against the Giants.

This one certainly stung, but it probably won’t be a major setback for Harvey, who was able to walk off without assistance. Kyle Finnegan, who would have taken over in the ninth anyway, replaced him against the Giants.

Finnegan had a strong spring and earned a save his first time out, so one bad outing isn’t going to doom him. Still, Dave Martinez was surprisingly quick to go to Hunter Harvey when Finnegan struggled last year, with Finnegan only getting the closing job back because Harvey got hurt. Those rostering Finnegan might want to stash Harvey if that’s an option.

Harvey, 29, was the best reliever in the Nationals’ bullpen when healthy in 2023 — posting a 2.82 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and a 67/13 K/BB ratio over 60 2/3 innings while recording 10 saves. He’ll once again have to fight Kyle Finnegan for save chances in the ninth inning for the Nationals. No word yet on the specifics of the deal, but Harvey was projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $2.2 million in the arbitration process.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo confirmed that GMs have been asking about both Finnegan and Harvey in trade discussions. “We’re not looking to move them, but we never say no to [considering] ideas,” he said. Finnegan finished the year with a 3.76 ERA, racking up 28 saves in the process. Harvey’s ERA was almost a full run better at 2.82, striking out 28.5% of batters while notching 10 saves and 19 holds. The Nationals don’t need to move either, since they are both controllable via arbitration through 2025.

The Nationals were staying away from Kyle Finnegan tonight after he threw 31 pitches Thursday. Harvey also pitched then, but he threw just 13 pitches. Even so, his velocity was down somewhat tonight. The Nationals probably won’t want to use the oft-injured righty back-to-back too often in September.

Finnegan took the ball to protect a three-run margin in the final frame after Hunter Harvey worked a scoreless eighth inning to keep the Red Sox at bat. He gave up a pair of hits to open the frame, which wound up bringing the potential tying run to the plate, but managed to wriggle out of the jam completely unscathed. He’s converted 19 of his 26 save chances this season to accompany a solid 2.55 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 52/16 K/BB ratio across 53 innings (51 appearances).

It’s nice to hear confirmation, but the news shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone as Finnegan has been excellent in the role since taking it back over. The 31-year-old hurler holds a 2.65 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 51/15 K/BB ratio over 51 innings on the season and hasn’t been scored upon in his last 12 outings dating back to July 14.

Harvey returns to Washington’s high-leverage relief mix for Tuesday’s series opener against the Red Sox following a one-month absence due to a right elbow strain. The 28-year-old righty has notched nine saves this season to accompany a stellar 3.12 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 45/12 K/BB ratio across 40 1/3 innings (39 appearances). He’s blossomed into an effective closing option at the highest level, when healthy.