With the conclusion of the World Series, we are officially in offseason mode. That will be the case for as long as there’s no lockout in place by the league, which is one of the likeliest outcomes come December 1.
We are approaching the time in which general managers and presidents of baseball operations make roster decisions. However, awards season is around the corner, too.
While baseball heads think about ways to improve their respective rosters, fans, players, and members of the media are preparing to select, reveal, and discuss the best hitters, pitchers, defensive players, and even relievers in what ended up being an exciting year.
The BBWAA, or Baseball Writers’ Association of America, will issue the Relief Pitcher of the Year Award for the first time. It’s a different piece of hardware than the Reliever of the Year Award issued by MLB (named after Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman) and the Sporting News’ Relief Pitcher of the Year Award.
When it comes to relief pitchers, Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith deserves to be nominated in all the awards, and chances are he’ll take home more than one. That’s how dominant he was in 2026.
“Smith is an All-MLB Team finalist and a contender for the BBWAA’s inaugural Relief Pitcher of the Year honor. In his first full season as the Guardians’ closer, the 27-year-old recorded 41 saves, which was tied for first in MLB with Tampa Bay’s Bryan Baker. In 74 innings over 69 appearances, Smith logged a career high in bWAR (2.9), strikeouts (107, first among AL relievers) and games finished (60, first in MLB), while recording a 1.95 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP,” Guardians insider Tim Stebbins wrote.
That paragraph pretty much sums up Smith’s year. It was flat-out dominant, even if he was a bit shaky in the first couple of weeks of the season coming out of spring training.
For the third season in a row, Smith surpassed 100 strikeouts, which is particularly hard to do as a reliever. He finished the year with 107 in 74 innings of work.
The big right-hander was a beast in postseason play, too, giving the Guardians zero after zero when it mattered the most. He finished October with a 2.38 ERA in 11.1 innings, and it could have been much better had he not allowed that home run to Junior Caminero in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. He was running on fumes by then after being thrown into the fire for weeks without much rest.
All things considered, Smith should be considered one of the favorites for the inaugural honor. It would be a perfect way to cap an impressive season.
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