Misiorowski, Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani Lead the MLB Award Finalists, With a New Reliever Award Debuting

By The Arena Staff

NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2026 — The World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers have four finalists for baseball's biggest individual awards, led by Jacob Misiorowski, a heavy favorite for the National League Cy Young, according to The Associated Press. The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed its top three vote-getters in each category Monday night on MLB Network.

The voting happened before the playoffs, so the awards reflect the regular season only, and the ballots are already counted, CBS Sports noted. The winners are revealed starting Monday, Nov. 9, with Rookie of the Year, followed by Manager of the Year on Nov. 10, Relief Pitcher of the Year on Nov. 11 and MVP on Nov. 12.

Misiorowski went 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP and 252 strikeouts in 174 2/3 innings, leading the majors in ERA, WHIP and strikeouts, according to CBS Sports. His competition is Atlanta's Chris Sale and Philadelphia's Cristopher Sánchez. In the American League, the Cy Young finalists are Toronto's Dylan Cease, Cleveland's Parker Messick and the Yankees' Cam Schlittler, who posted a 1.95 ERA.

The NL MVP race includes Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who hit 45 home runs and stole 41 bases to become the seventh member of the 40-40 club, the AP reported. Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Brewers second baseman Brice Turang are the other finalists. In the AL, Houston's Yordan Alvarez, Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero and Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. made the cut.

Messick also is a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year with Detroit's Kevin McGonigle and Boston's Payton Tolle. According to the AP, his top-three Cy Young finish as a rookie earns Cleveland an extra pick after the first round of the 2027 draft. The NL rookie finalists are the Mets' Carson Benge, Cincinnati's Sal Stewart and St. Louis' JJ Wetherholt.

This year also brings a new BBWAA award, Relief Pitcher of the Year, in each league. MLB had already been handing out its own reliever awards, but this is the first time the writers have voted on one, CBS Sports reported. The AL finalists are Tampa Bay's Bryan Baker, Cleveland's Cade Smith and Toronto's Louis Varland. In the NL, Milwaukee's Trevor Megill is up against Philadelphia's Jhoan Duran and San Diego's Mason Miller.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy could become the first manager to win three straight Manager of the Year awards, the AP reported. He faces Philadelphia's Don Mattingly and Atlanta's Walt Weiss. The AL finalists are Kevin Cash of the Rays, Chad Tracy of the Red Sox and Will Venable of the White Sox.

Sources: AP via ESPN, CBS Sports and Sportsnet.