Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez, Jhoan Duran and Don Mattingly named finalists for MLB awards
Sánchez was named a NL Cy Young finalist, while closer Duran was considered for Reliever of the Year Award and Mattingly was added as a finalist for Manager of the Year.
Major League Baseball’s award season has begun, and the Phillies pitching staff already has multiple players in contention.
For the second consecutive season, Cristopher Sánchez was named a National League Cy Young Award finalist. Closer Jhoan Duran was also named a finalist for NL Reliever of the Year Award, an honor that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America is debuting this season.
In addition, Don Mattingly was named a finalist for NL Manager of the Year alongside Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy and Atlanta’s Walt Weiss.
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In 2025, Sánchez finished as unanimous runner-up in Cy Young voting to Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes. This year, the lefty is a finalist alongside Atlanta’s Chris Sale and Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski. Sánchez posted a 2.91 ERA in 2026 and was named the NL’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
He led all NL pitchers in bWAR (8.1), starts (33), and wins (18). His 207 innings pitched were a career high and only second in baseball to Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (214). His scoreless streak of 50⅔ innings set the single-season record for the longest by a left-hander in major league history.
Duran recorded a 1.82 ERA and 0.994 WHIP in 59⅓ innings. Milwaukee’s Trevor Megill and San Diego’s Mason Miller are also finalists for the new award. The Phillies closer recorded 33 saves in 35 opportunities, ranking fourth in the NL.
After taking over for the fired Rob Thomson on April 28, Mattingly had a 79-55 record as Phillies manager. He guided a team that had begun the year with a 9-19 record to second in the NL East, earning a berth to the wild-card series where they lost to the Braves in three games.
The Phillies removed the interim tag from Mattingly, making him their full-time manager, this offseason.
Each award is voted on by the BBWAA, and the winners will be revealed the week of Nov. 9, along with MVP and Rookie of the Year from both leagues. Delco native Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers is a finalist for American League Rookie of the Year.
As the Phillies’ representative in the players’ union, Garrett Stubbs is on the front lines of baseball’s upcoming labor dispute. The backup catcher, who was designated for assignment on Thursday, joined Phillies Extra to discuss why the players won’t go for a salary cap, sitting in on early negotiations, when baseball might be played in 2027, and (spoiler!) his plans to create content during the looming lockout. Watch here. Watch here.
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