Sale Joins Cy Young Race
The veteran left-hander joins Misiorowski and Sánchez for the NL award, with voting results due Nov. 11.
By Giulia Marshall ·
Chris Sale has earned a spot in the National League Cy Young Award race after a dominant season for the Atlanta Braves. MLB Network announced on Tuesday that the 37-year-old left-hander is a finalist alongside Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski and Philadelphia Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sánchez.
Sale’s path to this season began with a one-year, $27 million contract extension signed in February, which includes a club option for $30 million in 2028. Following a period where injuries limited his workload to just 151 innings between 2020 and 2023, he returned to form with a 2.16 ERA and 200 strikeouts over 162.2 innings this year.
His performance helped stabilize a rotation that faced injuries during the Braves’ 94-win campaign. Sale served as a key anchor for a group that also included Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, Martin Perez, and Tyler Mahle, contributing to the team’s fifth-best ERA in baseball at 3.63.
A defining moment of his resurgence occurred on Aug. 27, when Sale recorded a complete-game shutout against the Dodgers with 11 strikeouts. That performance renewed discussion about his Hall of Fame prospects, building on his 2024 Cy Young win where he led the league with 18 victories and posted a 2.38 ERA.
While Misiorowski is considered the favorite to take the award, Sale’s statistics place him firmly in the conversation. The Cy Young winner will be announced on Nov. 11. Braves manager Walt Weiss, who replaced Brian Snitker and guided the team to its first NL East title since 2023, is also a finalist for NL Manager of the Year, an award to be revealed on Nov. 10.
The full list of BBWAA award finalists for the 2026 season includes players from both leagues. In the National League, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Shohei Ohtani, and Brice Turang are competing for MVP, while Carson Benge, Sal Stewart, and JJ Wetherholt are finalists for Rookie of the Year. In the American League, Yordan Alvarez, Junior Caminero, and Bobby Witt Jr. are in the MVP race, with Dylan Cease, Parker Messick, and Cam Schlittler competing for the Cy Young Award.
