The Baseball Writers’ Affiliation of America introduced the creation of a brand new award, as beginning in 2026, the writers will now be voting on a Aid Pitcher Of The Yr in each the American and Nationwide League. The RPOY will be a part of the MVP Awards, the Cy Younger Awards, the Rookie of the Yr Awards, and the Supervisor of the Yr Awards as probably the most distinguished year-end honors voted on by the BBWAA.
This isn’t the primary time relievers have gotten their very own trophy. The previous “Rolaids Aid Man Award” existed from 1976-2012, with winners decided by a factors system relatively than a voting system. Since 2014, Main League Baseball has a Reliever Of The Yr trophy that has been determined by a panel of former aid pitchers, with the AL model of the award named after Mariano Rivera and the NL model named for Trevor Hoffman. The Rivera and Hoffman Awards are anticipated to proceed, as per The Athletic’s Steve Berman, although it appears potential the league might retire their awards if the BBWAA’s trophy turns into probably the most public customary for aid pitching achievement.
Jayson Stark was one of many driving forces behind the creation of the Aid Pitcher of the Yr Award, and Stark outlined the BBWAA’s thought course of in a bit for The Athletic. Merely put, “aid pitching now dominates this sport — the way it’s performed, the way it’s managed, who sprays champagne each fall — in a approach it by no means has earlier than,” Stark writes, and thus relievers deserve their very own devoted award to mirror their particular position.
Whereas relievers are naturally eligible for different awards, a aid pitcher hasn’t gained a Cy Younger Award since Eric Gagne in 2003. Stark notes that it’s more and more uncommon to see relievers obtain any first-place votes in Cy Younger or MVP races, and even the Rivera/Hoffman Awards normally concentrate on closers (as one ex-player on the voting committee admitted to Stark). The creation of a distinguished award for relievers additionally provides some historic weight to their careers, which helps in future Corridor of Fame voting and for a fuller appreciation of simply how good a selected aid pitcher was in any given 12 months or any given period.
It’s in all probability protected to imagine closers will nonetheless win Aid Pitcher Of The Yr Award the vast majority of the time, but the broader scope permits the BBWAA voters to contemplate all sorts of relievers, who’re arguably much more neglected when it comes to recognition. Pitchers like Abner Uribe, Garrett Whitlock, Randy Rodriguez, Bryan Abreu, or (from the Padres alone) Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, or Adrian Morejon are examples from 2025 of pitchers who’ve been dominant out of the pen in set-up or fireman roles.
From a transactional standpoint, a excessive end in a RPOY vote could not essentially imply a lot for a aid pitcher in free company, as groups will nonetheless prioritize statistics and projections even when a RPOY Award offers a participant a bit extra acclaim. The creation of this award might imply a number of further {dollars} for relievers when it comes to contractual bonuses, in the identical approach that hitters and beginning pitchers typically obtain incentive bonuses hooked up to any top-3, top-5, and so forth. finishes in MVP or Cy Younger Award balloting.
