By MATT PIKE
Finalists have been announced for end of season awards for the 2026 Major League Baseball season with Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr among those once again for American League MVP.
The 2026 finalists for the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Awards, the Manager of the Year Awards, the Cy Young Awards, the Most Valuable Player Awards, and the new Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards were announced on Monday. Award winners will be announced during the week of November 9th, starting with the Rookies of the Year award and culminating with the MVP awards on November 12th.
Witt Jr is a finalist for the AL MVP award for the second time in his career, after a runner up finish in 2024 to the New York Yankees Aaron Judge. His numbers this season dipped comparatively to '24, with a .281/.359/.441 slash line, 18 home runs, and 54 RBIs, but his solid offense and excellent defense were enough to get him into the top three. Witt has finished in the top seven of AL MVP balloting in each of the past four seasons. He is a finalist alongside the Tampa Bay Rays Junior Caminero and Houston Astros Yordan Alvarez.
Alvarez finished third in 2022 AL MVP voting. In 2026, he set new career highs in home runs, with 42, and RBIs at 106, while leading all qualifying hitters with a .316 batting average, .432 on-base percentage, and .601 slugging percentage. Caminero built on his breakout 2025 campaign, posting an .884 OPS with 42 homers and 101 RBIs for Tampa Bay. He played in all 162 games with a .276/.360/.524 slash line and was named an All-Star for the second straight season.
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt, as has been expected most of the season, was named a finalist for National League Rookie of the Year. The last St. Louis player to win Rookie of the Year was Albert Pujols in 2001 and if he were to win, Wetherholt would be only the third second baseman to win the honor in the past 44 years, joining Steve Sax and Jonathan India.
Wetherholt, who was the Cardinals’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 5 prospect in baseball entering the 2026 season, according to MLB Pipeline, made St. Louis’ Opening Day roster as its starting second baseman. From day one, the former first round pick impressed for the Redbirds, slashing 242/.339/.365 slash line with 17 home runs and 14 steals in 15 attempts while driving in 51 runs. Where Wetherholt excelled the most was in the field. His +23 fielding run value, according to Statcast, was not only the highest among MLB second basemen last season, but also the second-highest fielding run value of any player in the game, regardless of position.
In his way are two other outstanding rookies, outfielder Carson Benge of the New York Mets and first baseman Sal Stewart for the Cincinnati Reds. Benge put together a strong all-around rookie season for the Mets, hitting 20 home runs and stealing 22 bases in his debut campaign, while batting .282 with a .776 OPS driving in 65 runs. Stewart drove in 112 runs in 2026, the third most in MLB behind the Cardinals’ Alec Burleson with 116 and Pete Alonso with 113. Stewart finished his second big league season with a .263/.330/.457 slash line after posting an .838 OPS in 18 games in 2025. With 32 homers and 15 steals.
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