Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres has earned this season’s Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year honors, and Bryan Baker of the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays has won the 2026 Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award, Major League Baseball announced this evening in front of a live audience in Las Vegas at the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards.
The recognitions of Miller and Baker mark the first time since Liam Hendriks and Devin Williams won in 2020 that two first-time recipients have been honored with these awards. These recognitions also represent the first such honors in franchise history for both the Padres and the Rays. Miller became the eighth reliever to win one of these awards unanimously (previously: Zack Britton in 2016; Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen in 2017; Edwin Díaz in 2022; Félix Bautista in 2023; and Emmanuel Clase and Ryan Helsley in 2024).
Miller, who was named an All-Star for the second time in his career in 2026, posted a 5-2 record with 1.67 ERA (13 ER/70.0 IP), 38 saves, 129 strikeouts, 26 walks, a 0.90 WHIP and a .152 opponents’ average in 66 appearances this year. The Pittsburgh native tossed 34.2 consecutive scoreless innings from August 6th of last year to April 27th of this year, setting a Padres’ franchise record and marking the eighth-longest scoreless streak by a reliever since 1961. The right-hander began his season by striking out 25 of the first 35 batters he faced through his first 10 outings of the season. His 71.4% strikeout rate was the highest by a pitcher in the first 10 appearances of a season since at least 1900. From March 28th-April 16th, the third round selection in the 2021 Draft (by ATH) struck out 76.7% of the batters he faced, marking the third instance in which he has struck out at least 75% of batters faced in a span of nine appearances, a feat no other pitcher has accomplished in MLB history. Alongside Carlos Mármol’s 2010 campaign with the Chicago Cubs and Eric Gagné’s 2003 NL Cy Young Award-winning season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miller is now one of three relievers in history with at least 38 saves and 129 strikeouts in a season. Miller became the ninth Padres reliever to record at least 38 saves in a single season, joining Heath Bell (3x: 2009-11); Mark Davis (1989); Trevor Hoffman (10x: 1998-2002, 2004-07); Craig Kimbrel (2015); Mark Melancon (2021); Randy Myers (1992); Robert Suarez (2025); and Kirby Yates (2019). Among the list, Miller is the only reliever in franchise history to do so with at least 129 strikeouts and his 1.67 ERA trails only Hoffman’s 1998 season (1.48 ERA) and Yates’ 2019 campaign (1.19). The Gardner-Webb University product fired 518 pitches of at least 100 miles per hour this season, surpassing his previous record of 510 in 2024 and marking the fourth-most thrown in a single season, trailing only Aroldis Chapman (572 in 2016); Jordan Hicks (673 in 2018); and Jacob Misiorowski (1,115 in 2026).
Baker, who was named an All-Star for the first time in his six-year career, posted a 4-2 record with a 1.44 ERA (10 ER/62.1 IP), 41 saves, 63 strikeouts, 22 walks, a 0.91 WHIP and a .159 opponents’ batting average across 65 appearances this season. The Fort Walton Beach, Florida native tied for the Major League lead (with Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians) with 41 saves on the season, including 29 consecutive save opportunities converted from May 17th-September 25th. His 23rd consecutive save, notched on August 8th, surpassed Fernando Rodney’s previous franchise record of 22, set in 2012. The right-hander became just the fourth reliever in MLB history to collect 40-or-more saves with an ERA of 1.44-or-lower through 62.1 innings-or-less, joining Huston Street (2014); Greg Holland (2014); and Kirby Yates (2019). The University of North Florida product became just the fourth pitcher in franchise history to complete a season with an ERA of 1.44-or-lower (min. 30 games), joining Joaquin Benoit (2010); Rodney (2012); and Shawn Armstrong (2023). Additionally, Baker recorded a save in 14 of 15 consecutive outings from July 2nd-August 8th, joining Smith as the only two relievers to do so this season. Baker finished his season converting all 30 of his final save opportunities across a 45-game span, becoming the only reliever in Baseball to have such a streak this season. Baker also became the first relief pitcher since Brian Wilson’s 2010 campaign with San Francisco to lead or share the MLB lead in saves and appear in the World Series.
The NL relievers who were runners-up include Jhoan Duran (2-6, 1.82 ERA, 33/35 SV, 59.1 IP, 49 H, 14 R, 12 ER, 10 BB, 84 SO, 0.99 WHIP) of the Philadelphia Phillies and Raisel Iglesias (1-2, 2.55 ERA, 34/37 SV, 60.0 IP, 48 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 17 BB, 64 SO, 1.08 WHIP) of the Atlanta Braves. The AL relievers who were runners-up were Cleveland’s Cade Smith (6-1, 1.95 ERA, 41/46 SV, 74.0 IP, 48 H, 20 R, 16 ER, 23 BB, 107 SO, 0.96 WHIP) and Aroldis Chapman (3-4, 1.92 ERA, 35/37 SV, 51.2 IP, 35 H, 13 R, 11 ER, 23 BB, 71 SO, 1.12 WHIP) of the Boston Red Sox.
Balloting for the Rivera and Hoffman Awards, which debuted in the 2014 season, was conducted among a panel of seven all-time great relievers in order to determine the recipients. Rivera and Hoffman, both of whom spent their entire careers in the same League en route to the top of the all-time saves list, were joined as voters by two fellow Hall of Fame relief pitchers – Rollie Fingers and Billy Wagner – along with John Franco, Joe Nathan and Troy Percival. The seven voters ranked the top three relief pitchers by league based solely on regular season performance, using a 5-3-1 weighted point system.
Miller and Baker will each receive a special trophy that models the likeness of Rivera and Hoffman, respectively, pitching during their Hall of Fame careers. The Rivera and Hoffman Awards replaced MLB’s “Delivery Man of the Year Award,” which was presented to one winner in all of Major League Baseball from 2005-2013. These awards continue a longstanding baseball tradition of honoring the game’s top relief pitchers. The winners have been:
