Padres, Blue Jays closers win new award

Mason Miller struck out 129 batters in 70 innings for the San Diego Padres, a statistic that helped him claim the first ever National League Reliever of the Year award from the Baseball Writers Association of America. The BBWAA introduced the new honor this year and will present it annually alongside existing major league baseball awards.

Miller posted a 1.67 earned run average and led all pitchers with 3.9 wins above replacement. He also finished with 38 saves and 57 games finished, both league leading marks. The Padres acquired Miller from the Athletics at the 2025 trade deadline in a six player deal that included shortstop Leo De Vries. He has recorded a 1.45 earned run average in parts of two seasons with San Diego. This is the first major award of his career, as he previously received no Cy Young or MVP votes.

The voting included two members per city in each league. Votes were submitted before the playoffs began, so postseason performances did not count. Miller defeated the Brewers' Trevor Megill and the Phillies' Jhoan Duran in the voting. His 47.4 percent strikeout rate was the highest among qualified relievers, far ahead of the second best rate of 37.7 percent by Mason Montgomery.

In the American League, Louis Varland of the Toronto Blue Jays won the inaugural award. He posted a 1.27 earned run average, the best mark among qualified relievers, and recorded 3.1 wins above replacement. Varland struck out 87 batters in 78 innings and collected 35 saves. He finished fifth in the league in saves, a number that trails the league leader but did not prevent him from winning the prize based on overall dominance.

Varland was traded from the Minnesota Twins, his hometown team, to Toronto at the 2025 trade deadline. He struggled immediately after the move, allowing a 4.94 earned run average, but improved during the 2025 postseason. He reached an even higher level of performance in the 2026 regular season. This was his first year receiving any award votes and his first selection as an All Star.

The new BBWAA award is distinct from the Mariano Rivera Award and the Trevor Hoffman Award. Those existing honors recognize the best relievers in each league and are voted on by a panel of former relievers. The Rivera and Hoffman Awards replaced the Delivery Man of the Year Award in 2015.

Varland beat out the Guardians' Cade Smith and the Rays' Bryan Baker for the American League prize. He served as a workhorse for the Blue Jays, recording eight saves that involved at least four outs. Only Jacob Latz, with 13 such saves, finished higher in that specific category during the regular season.