Junior Caminero, Kevin Cash and Bryan Baker Give the AL Champion Rays Three BBWAA Award Finalists, With Caminero Assured a Franchise-Best MVP Finish

The Tampa Bay Rays' American League championship season produced three finalists for the Baseball Writers' Association of America awards, announced Monday night on MLB Network. Third baseman Junior Caminero is a finalist for AL Most Valuable Player, manager Kevin Cash is up for AL Manager of the Year, and closer Bryan Baker is a finalist for the first AL Reliever of the Year Award the BBWAA has ever presented, according to MLB.com.

Caminero's selection alone makes history. By finishing in the top three, the 23-year-old has already guaranteed the highest MVP finish by a player in franchise history. The previous best belonged to Evan Longoria, who finished sixth in 2010 and 2013, and Yandy Diaz, who was sixth in 2023. No Ray had ever finished in the top five, MLB.com reported.

When the awards will be announced

The winners will be revealed during the week of Nov. 9 on MLB Network, beginning with the Rookie of the Year awards. Each of the Rays' three finalists has a separate night, according to MLB.com:

Coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern each night. The Cy Young Awards will be announced on Nov. 11, the same night as the reliever award.

Caminero's case for MVP

Caminero hit .276 with a .360 on-base percentage and a .524 slugging percentage, with 42 home runs, 101 RBIs and a 144 OPS+. He started all 162 regular-season games at third base, and he was named an All-Star for the second straight season after finishing ninth in AL MVP voting in 2025, according to MLB.com.

His biggest growth came in plate discipline. He drew nearly twice as many walks as he did in 2025 and raised his on-base percentage from .311 to .360 without losing power, MLB.com's Adam Berry wrote. His defense also improved markedly as the season went on.

Alvarez is viewed as the favorite. The Houston designated hitter led the majors in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.601), hit 42 homers with 106 RBIs and made a strong run at baseball's first Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012. Caminero's argument rests on playing defense every day as opposed to Alvarez's primary role as a DH, and on being the best player on the AL's best team, the 98-win Rays, while the Astros won the AL West with 81 wins. Witt, the 2024 runner-up, hit .281 with 18 homers and 54 RBIs and earned his spot largely with defense.

Cash chases a third Manager of the Year award

Cash won AL Manager of the Year in 2020 and 2021, and a third award would put him in rare company. The longest-tenured manager in the majors, he took over before the 2015 season and owns a 994-848 record over 12 seasons, according to MLB.com.

The Rays were widely predicted to finish last in the AL East. Instead, they spent most of the year atop the league, won the division for the third time under Cash and claimed the AL's top playoff seed at 98-64, a year after winning 77 games. They did it with the sixth-lowest payroll in the majors.

The competition is strong. Venable led the White Sox to 84-78 two years after a 41-121 season, and Chicago beat Houston in the Wild Card Series for its first postseason series win since 2005. Tracy took over as Boston's interim manager after a 10-17 start and went 77-58, including a franchise-record-tying 15-game winning streak, before the Red Sox removed his interim tag on Sept. 22.

Baker and the brand-new reliever award

The Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards are new for 2026. One of Cash's moves this season was reintroducing a traditional closer, and Baker made the most of it. A first-time All-Star, he tied Cleveland's Smith for the major league lead with 41 saves, going 41-for-44 with a 1.44 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings.

Baker did not blow a save after May 13, converting 30 straight opportunities to finish the regular season. He added five more saves in the postseason without allowing a run in 10 innings over nine appearances, according to MLB.com. The Rays acquired him from Baltimore in July 2025 for a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick. Varland, Toronto's closer, had the lowest ERA among pitchers with at least 60 innings at 1.27.

The Brewers, again

The finalists list offered a reminder of how the season ended for Tampa Bay. The Milwaukee Brewers, who beat the Rays 4-1 in Game 5 of the World Series at Tropicana Field on Oct. 28 to win their first championship, had four finalists, according to MLB.com: right-hander Jacob Misiorowski for NL Cy Young, second baseman Brice Turang for NL MVP, closer Trevor Megill for NL Reliever of the Year, and Pat Murphy, who is trying to become the first manager to win Manager of the Year three straight times. Milwaukee had the majors' best record at 103-59.

The Miami Marlins had no finalists in any category.

Qualifying offers reach former Rays

Monday was also the deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers, one-year deals worth $23.15 million for 2027. Eight players received them, according to MLB.com, and several have Florida ties.

• Randy Arozarena, the former Rays outfielder whose 2020 postseason made him a Tampa Bay favorite, received one from Seattle after a walk year with a career-best 148 OPS+.
• Brandon Lowe, traded from the Rays to Pittsburgh last offseason, received one from the Pirates after hitting 35 homers with an .824 OPS.
• Jake Bauers got one from the Brewers after a career year that ended with NLCS MVP honors.
• Trevor Rogers, the former Marlins left-hander, received one from Baltimore.

The other four were Seiya Suzuki (Cubs), Adrian Morejon (Padres), Ryan Jeffers (Twins) and David Bednar (Yankees). Players have until 4 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 17 to accept. Those who decline remain free agents, and their former teams receive draft-pick compensation if they sign elsewhere.

What's next

The Rays have already started on 2027, picking up a $20 million option on ace Drew Rasmussen last week. The award announcements from Nov. 10 to 12 will put a final stamp on 2026, and for Caminero, the only question left is whether his record finish is third, second or first.