Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor named finalists for MLBs MVP honors
The Yankees and Mets are well represented among finalists for year-end awards. Among eight categories for the big four Baseball Writers’ Association of America Awards — MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year in each league — four Yankees and two Mets are in the top three finishers, as revealed Monday night. The finalists — among the top three vote-getters — for the Yankees are: • Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, who will face off with the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr.for American League MVP. Judge is the heavy favorite for what would be his second MVP in three seasons.
The captain led the major leagues in plenty, including his 58 home runs, 144 RBIs and a 1.159 OPS, in another impressive year that did not end with a championship but likely will end with hardware. Witt enjoyed an all-around excellent season, his .332 average the best in baseball while stealing 31 bases, posting a .977 OPS and playing great defense at shortstop — a season that was excellent if not quite as historic as Judge’s. Soto, whose walk-year excellence will fetch him hundreds of millions of dollars, has never won an MVP, topping out as runner-up to Bryce Harper while with the Nationals in 2021.He has at least finished in the top three this year, receiving more votes than the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson. • Luis Gil and Austin Wells, who join Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser as top finishers for the AL Rookie of the Year. Gil (3.50 ERA in 29 starts) looked like a Cy Young contender through May, when he owned a 1.99 ERA, but he tired late in his first full season after Tommy John surgery and still qualified as a revelation. Wells (.718 OPS in 115 games, plus solid defense at catcher) looked like the disciplined bat the Yankees had seen grow through the minors, settling in as the cleanup hitter before he struggled late in the season. Cowser (.768 OPS with 24 homers in 153 games) is a strong contender, winning a job out of camp and running with it. The finali...