Red Sox Players Among BBWAA Awards Finalists

The Baseball Writers Association of America announced its end-of-season award finalists, including two members of the Boston Red Sox. The list was revealed Monday night on MLB Network.

Payton Tolle was one of three finalists for the AL Rookie of the Year award, alongside Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers and Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians. Chad Tracy was among three finalists for the AL Manager of the Year award, including Will Venable of the Chicago White Sox and Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Sonny Gray, who was left out of the All-Star Game in July, did not make the list of finalists for the AL Cy Young Award. The award will be decided among Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees, Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians.

Each award was determined by votes from BBWAA members, with ballots due the day after the regular season ended. The postseason did not affect the voting process. Winners will be announced starting November 9.

Tolle did not make the Red Sox’ Opening Day roster but joined the rotation later when injuries affected the staff. In 26 starts, he posted a 9-6 record with a 3.03 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 148.2 innings.

Tolle’s performance improved as the season progressed, with a 2.92 ERA in the second half of the season. The Red Sox have not had a Rookie of the Year winner since Dustin Pedroia in 2007.

Tracy was hired as the Red Sox’ manager on April 25, replacing Alex Cora, when the team was seven games under .500. He led the team to a playoff berth as a wild card entry. Before his promotion, Tracy managed the team’s Triple A affiliate in Worcester for four full seasons.

Tracy was one of two interim managers to lead his team to a playoff appearance in 2026, with Don Mattingly of the Philadelphia Phillies being the other. The Red Sox had a 35-42 record during a stretch and tied a franchise record with a 15-game winning streak.

The Red Sox officially named Tracy their manager in the final week of the season, with a contract through 2029. The last Red Sox manager to win the award was Jimy Williams in 1999.

Gray, a free agent, was Boston’s best starting pitcher in a season that saw the team’s ace, Garrett Crochet, miss the rest of the regular season in late April.