Kyle Finnegan didn’t just re-sign with the Detroit Tigers. He re-signed with an idea that would’ve sounded laughable in this town not that long ago.

This is a Tigers bullpen that now features the game’s No. 1 active saves leader, the No. 13 active saves leader, and the club’s 2025 saves leader — a combination so rare that Elias Sports Bureau says no team has ever opened a season with three relievers who all had 20-plus saves the year before.

And Finnegan? He’s thrilled about it. That alone tells you how far this franchise has come.

When Finnegan talked on Monday about coming back on a two-year deal, nothing he said sounded like a pitcher clinging to a ninth-inning title or worrying about personal numbers. Instead, it sounded like someone who finally believes the organization around him is serious.

“The more ‘closers’ you have on your team, the better.”

Those air quotes matter. In Detroit, closers used to be a necessity because there was only one reliever you trusted. Everyone else was in survival mode. One guy for the ninth, crossed fingers everywhere else.

Now? Finnegan is talking about leverage, matchups, depth — the exact language you hear from playoff teams. That’s not accidental.

Adding Kenley Jansen — fourth all-time in saves, first among active players — isn’t just a signing. It’s a statement. And Finnegan’s reaction to it says everything.

“To add a guy like Kenley Jansen is insane.”

Insane… in Detroit? This is the same franchise that spent years patching bullpens together with waiver claims and one-year fliers. Now it’s pairing a future Hall of Famer with Finnegan and Will Vest, last season’s saves leader, and asking them all to coexist without ego.

And they’re excited about it. That’s culture change. Real culture change.

According to @EliasSports, there’s never been an Opening Day roster with three players having 20+ saves the previous season.

As of now, the Tigers would have three: Kenley Jansen (29), Kyle Finnegan (24), and Will Vest (23). pic.twitter.com/QKquhvHwls

— Ben Fidelman (@bfidelman) December 22, 2025A.J. Hinch built a winning culture in Detroit, and pitchers trust it

Finnegan made it clear: roles don’t matter. Matchups do. Winning does. That mindset doesn’t happen unless players trust the guy making the calls, and A.J. Hinch has earned that trust.

Hinch doesn’t anoint closers. He deploys weapons.

For years, Tigers fans begged for bullpen depth, flexibility, and pitchers who actually want to be here. Now, they’re getting all three.

When Finnegan says he’s fine pitching the sixth or the ninth, he’s not saying it because he has to. He’s saying it because this team has reached a point where winning feels plausible every night. That’s what real progress looks like.

Detroit is no longer a place pitchers pass through. It’s a place they choose –– and that might be the biggest win of all.