Brandon Finnegan, who was designated for assignment last week by the Cincinnati Reds, has cleared waivers and was outrighted to the minor leagues. For Finnegan, and the Reds, it’s been a fall from grace since the left-handed pitcher was injured in April of 2017.
In 2014 Brandon Finnegan became the first player to play in both the college world series and the Major League Baseball World Series in the same year. Kansas City had sort of yanked him back-and-forth between the rotation and bullpen, and the Major Leagues and minor leagues. They moved him to Cincinnati in the trade for Johnny Cueto the following July, in a deal that also brought the Reds Cody Reed and John Lamb.
It was the 2016 season that saw Brandon Finnegan establish himself as a starting pitcher in the big leagues. He would make 31 starts for Cincinnati and post a 3.98 ERA in 172.0 innings. After a slow start to the season, his second half was strong as he dropped his walk rate and increased his strikeout rate – watching his ERA drop nearly two full runs in that span.
But the next April he would make just three starts before hitting the disabled list. He would miss more than the next two months before showing back up in late June to make one start, before returning to the disabled list with a strained muscle near his pitching shoulder. He would later injure his non-pitching shoulder and it would require surgery. Finnegan didn’t pitch again that season.
In 2018 he was back and healthy, but his stuff was diminished. His fastball velocity was down and his secondary stuff wasn’t nearly as sharp. And the results showed that, too. In five starts with Cincinnati he posted an ERA of 7.40 and walked more batters than he struck out. After being sent to Triple-A after that his ERA remained high, coming in at 7.05 in 28 games – mostly out of the bullpen – over 67.2 innings.
For both the Cincinnati Reds and for Brandon Finnegan, they hope that he will be able to get back to where he once was. When he’s been at his best, he’s a quality big league pitcher who has been very capable as both a starter and as a reliever.