The glitziest, most star-studded night on the baseball offseason calendar is almost here.
The MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards is scheduled for Wednesday at 9 p.m ET. Back for a fourth year, the show honors some of the best big leaguers in front of a live audience for a grand celebration of baseball.
Here is what you need to know about the 2026 MLB Awards.
How can I watch the MLB Awards?
The 2026 MLB Awards will air live on MLB Network beginning at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday. It will be streamed on MLB.com. It will take place at the Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
When were the MLB Awards established?
This will be the fourth annual MLB Awards show. It was previously known as the All-MLB Team Awards as it took place during All-MLB Weekend. The show has originated from Las Vegas each year.
Who are the hosts and special attendees of the 2026 MLB Awards?
Dodgers star Mookie Betts and renowned comedian Roy Wood Jr. will serve as the show's co-hosts for the second consecutive year.
Active players scheduled to attend the show include Yordan Alvarez, Bobby Witt Jr., Elly De La Cruz, Jackson Chourio, Willson Contreras and William Contreras.
Two-time Grammy-nominated artist and electronic music icon Steve Aoki is expected to attend the Awards before headlining the show's official after-party with a special performance.
What awards will be handed out?
Here is a quick breakdown of each award that will be presented during the 2026 MLB Awards.
Hank Aaron Awards
Given annually to the best overall offensive performer in each league, the Hank Aaron Award winners are determined by a combination of a fan vote and a panel of Hall of Famers. Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani won this award in their respective league last year. This year, the likely favorites are Alvarez and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Alvarez slugged 42 home runs for the Astros while leading the Majors in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.601). Crow-Armstrong became the seventh member of the 40-40 club as he hit 45 homers (tied for the most in MLB) and stole 41 bases.
Comeback Player of the Year
The Comeback Player of the Year honors one player from each league who has overcome adversity to return to a high level of performance in the Majors.
Rangers ace Jacob deGrom was the AL recipient last year while the Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. won it in the NL.
This year, the NL race appears wide open, but Alvarez looks like a strong choice in the AL. He put up those massive aforementioned numbers after injuries limited him to just 48 games in 2025.
Mariano Rivera & Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year
Named for Hall of Fame closers Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman when the award was established in 2014, this goes to the best reliever in each league. Last year's winners were Aroldis Chapman in the AL and Edwin Díaz in the NL.
If you're looking for a favorite here, it's hard to go against the Padres' Mason Miller, who struck out 129 batters in 70 innings, had a 1.67 ERA and tied for the NL lead in saves with 38. In the AL, the Rays' Bryan Baker, the Guardians' Cade Smith and the Blue Jays' Louis Varland all had sub-2.00 ERAs. Varland led the pack with a 1.27 mark over 78 innings. Baker and Smith tied for the league lead with 41 saves.
Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter
The Outstanding DH Award has been handed out since the designated hitter was first adopted by the AL in 1973, and it was renamed in honor of five-time winner and Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez in 2004.
Ohtani has won the award in each of the past five seasons, but Alvarez appears to have the edge this year.
All-MLB Teams
The All-MLB First and Second Teams will be revealed during the show. The All-MLB Team was introduced in 2019 to honor players’ full-season contributions, given that All-Star selections are based on first-half performance. Fans were asked to vote at MLB.com to help choose first- and second-team selections at each position (including three outfielders, a DH, five starting pitchers and two relievers) among this year's nominees.
The nominees include 46 players who are previous All-MLB Team members, including 17 All-MLB honorees from 2025.
Capital One Premier Play of the Year
This award was given out for the first time during the 2025 MLB Awards. The winning play was Athletics outfielder Denzel Clarke's wall-scaling home run robbery against the Angels.
Flow Mayor Award presented by MGM Rewards
This award was known as Entertainer of the Year in 2025. The Flow Mayor Award is MLB's celebration of the style, swagger and self-expression that players bring to baseball. The winner -- the player whose style and charisma truly stand out in the Major Leagues -- will receive a diamond-studded toothpick.
Sage Executive of the Year
As with other awards, the voting here is completed prior to the start of the postseason, which means results from the playoffs aren’t taken into account. Brewers general manager Matt Arnold won the award in 2024 and '25.
What else will we see during the 2026 MLB Awards?
The show will take time to recognize this year's award winners from the Athletes Unlimited Softball League as well as Witt Jr. for his third consecutive Heart & Hustle Award win. Members of Team Venezuela will also be honored for winning the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger, Mark DeRosa, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds, Siera Santos and Lauren Shehadi will contribute to the program live on-site.