Who'll win awards in '26? Here are the top contenders in each division

The Yankees and Giants will open the 2026 MLB season on March 25. We’ll be counting down to that date with our annual preview series, with each story looking ahead to the coming season by breaking down a particular topic.

Previously: The best pending free agent in each division.

Today: The most likely award winners in each division.

Every player wants to build a legacy. The best way to do this is win a World Series: You’ll be welcomed back with love to your city the rest of your life if you win one of those. But the other route to immortality is to win an award. Every baseball you sign from then on can have a little “MVP” or “ROY” next to it, forever. Your place in baseball history is secured.

Thus, today, as part of our ongoing season preview series, we look at the best award candidates from every division. These are the players most likely to etch their names in the baseball annals for decades to come. We’re sticking here to the four major Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) Awards: MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year.

And one rule to keep in mind before we begin: No more than one candidate per team.

AL EAST

MVP: Aaron Judge, Yankees
No need to overthink this one, though it should be said that Judge has been unusually healthy the last few years for a man of his size and his age. He has played 148 or more games in four of the last five seasons, which is a main reason he has won three MVPs in that time. But you can’t help but wonder if, or even when, his injury luck is going to run out. Judge will turn 34 on April 26, after all. But if he’s healthy? He’s the obvious pick.

Cy Young: Garrett Crochet, Red Sox
He finished second last year, and he did lead the AL in both innings pitched and strikeouts. The two-time defending AL Cy winner, Tarik Skubal, is rather famously a pending free agent, so he has every incentive to have another terrific year. With that said, Crochet nearly matched him pitch for pitch in 2025 and may well do so again in 2026.

Rookie of the Year: Trey Yesavage, Blue Jays
Another classic from the Randy Arozarena School of Postseason Heroics That Make You Forget He’s Actually Still A Rookie, Yesavage threw 13 2/3 more innings in the 2025 postseason than he did in the regular season. He had a 3.58 ERA in his 27 2/3 postseason innings, and a 3.21 in his 14 regular-season innings. If he throws 150 this year at that rate, he’ll win 15 games and likely cruise to this award.

Manager of the Year: Craig Albernaz, Orioles
The new Orioles skipper has the perfect recipe to win a Manager of the Year Award: He’s taking over a team that has disappointed for two straight seasons (especially last year) but is immensely talented and has every incentive to win. He may not deserve all the credit if the Orioles win this division. But he’ll get it.

AL CENTRAL

MVP: José Ramírez, Guardians
Ramírez may well end up in Cooperstown someday -- and he has the stability now of knowing he’ll be with the Guardians through 2032, when he’ll turn 40 -- but he still hasn’t gotten that elusive MVP. He has finished in the top 10 eight times, including third last year, and he probably should have won over José Abreu in 2020. But J-Ram will keep putting up his numbers, and maybe one of these years, things will line up perfectly for him to be the MVP.

Cy Young: Tarik Skubal, Tigers
No one has won three straight Cy Young Awards since Randy Johnson won four from 1999-2002. If it’s ever going to happen again, now is absolutely the time.

Rookie of the Year: Carter Jensen, Royals
The reason we didn’t go with Bobby Witt Jr. as our division’s MVP favorite above is because we had to save a spot for Jensen, who debuted last year not long after turning 22 and posted a .941 OPS in 20 games. The Kansas City native won’t catch every day – Salvador Perez is still here, after all – but he will be in the lineup every day for his bat. His presence, along with that of Jac Caglianone, could transform this offense.

Manager of the Year: Derek Shelton, Twins
Shelton was a surprise choice to run the Twins, for a variety of reasons, not least of which that he never had a winning season in six seasons managing the Pirates. But the Twins have at least a non-zero chance of winning this division, and if they do, it’ll sure look like Shelton was the difference maker.

AL WEST

MVP: Julio Rodríguez, Mariners
This is, honestly, the third year in a row that Julio has been my MVP pick, and he keeps getting a little further away each year. He was even second on his own team last year! But this is still a superstar, and that year when he is a monster for all six months is coming eventually. How about now?

Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, Rangers
If there’s one fundamental truth about Jacob deGrom, it’s that when he’s healthy, he’s a Cy Young contender. So if he’s healthy, he’s the easy pick here. (But that’s a big if, as always.)

Rookie of the Year: Tatsuya Imai, Astros
The Astros surprised some people by landing Imai this offseason. He’ll be the key to their rotation and, really, any hopes they have this year. There’s always question marks about how a player will transition from Japan’s NPB to MLB, but we’ve seen a number of pitchers come over with immediate success, and Imai has the legit stuff to be the latest.

Manager of the Year: Mark Kotsay, A’s
Kotsay is deeply respected throughout baseball and has certainly weathered all sorts of challenges with the A’s. This is absolutely the best team he has managed so far, one that could even make the sort of surprise playoff run that wins managers awards.

NL EAST

MVP: Juan Soto, Mets
When is he going to finally win one? Well, he’s four years younger than Shohei Ohtani, so he’s got some time, but he is also squarely in his prime right now. Is this the full-on peak season we’ve all seen him building toward?

Cy Young: Chris Sale, Braves
The Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez would be a logical possibility too, but the way Sale has turned his career back around -- and potentially given himself a Cooperstown case -- has been inspiring.

Rookie of the Year: Justin Crawford, Phillies
Not a lot of non-Mets to choose from here -- Nolan McLean is a very logical choice -- but since we went with Soto as MVP, Crawford is a plucky pick. With his game-changing speed, the son of Carl Crawford may be the young center fielder the Phillies have needed for quite some time now.

Manager of the Year: Clayton McCullough, Marlins
My colleague Mike Petriello has already made the case that the Marlins could make this a four-team race. If that turns out to be the case, you will be hearing the name “Clayton McCullough” a lot.

NL CENTRAL

MVP: Elly De La Cruz, Reds
It’s all going to come together at some point for De La Cruz, when he gets all his physical gifts working for him at once, for a whole season, and completely wrecks the competition. It’s coming soon.

Cy Young: Paul Skenes, Pirates
Considering he still has a career ERA under 2.00, and considering he somehow finds a way to keep getting better every year, this seems like an easy pick.

Rookie of the Year: JJ Wetherholt, Cardinals
Wetherholt is likely to make his MLB debut as the leadoff man on Opening Day, the perfect symbol of the future the Cardinals are building toward. It’s a future in which Wetherholt is going to play a central role.

Manager of the Year: Craig Counsell, Cubs
Would you believe that Counsell has never won one of these? The Cubs are the clear favorite in the division, but they have not, in fact, won the NL Central in a full season since 2017. This has to be the year for them, and him, right?

NL WEST

MVP: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
I would not blame you for throwing your computer or phone across the room, upon reading this, if I had not picked him.

Cy Young: Logan Webb, Giants
Maybe starting the World Baseball Classic opener for Team USA -- a team that has Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal -- will help people finally realize just how fantastic Logan Webb is. He finished 11th in Cy Young voting in 2022, second in 2023, sixth in 2024 and fourth in 2025. He’s certainly carving himself a clear path.

Rookie of the Year: Charlie Condon, Rockies
This is, obviously, an awfully ambitious pick. But he has been mashing the ball this spring, and the Rockies don’t really have a first baseman right now. Why not give the kid a shot?

Manager of the Year: Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks
He’s the winningest manager in Diamondbacks history, but he has never won one of these. If he can get them in the playoffs this year, he’ll have a terrific case.