San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller was named the winner of the inaugural National League Reliever of the Year Award.
Miller, the game’s premier closer, was about as close to a lock to win an MLB award as you’ll ever see, and that’s exactly what happened when the award was announced on Wednesday night.
Mason Miller Wins Unanimously
The BBWAA shared the vote totals, with Miller earning all 30 first-place votes for 210 total points.
In second place was Philadelphia Phillies closer Jhoan Duran, who finished with 110 points, and third place was Trevor Megill of the Milwaukee Brewers, who had 66 points.
Miller is the game’s best relief arm, and everyone knew he would win this award. The only question is whether he got every first-place vote from every voter, and that’s exactly what happened, as all the voters unanimously agreed he was the National League’s best reliever in 2026.
Padres Closer Was Outstanding
This season, Miller pitched to a 1.67 ERA with a league-leading 38 saves for the Padres. He pitched in 66 games, with 70 IP and an outstanding 129 strikeouts, while racking up 3.1 bWAR.
It was just an absolutely amazing year for Miller, who came over from the Athletics in 2025 in a blockbuster trade.
Despite being one of the best pitchers in baseball, Miller’s name will likely be on the trade block once again if the Padres feel like they can get an even bigger haul for him in a trade than what they dealt for him.
Now, the question is whether the Padres will cash in on Miller as a trade chip, or keep him as their closer next season.
While it’s an easy decision to keep Miller since he is such a great pitcher, the Padres could likely get a haul back from another squad if they did end up moving him, as every other team in the league would surely love to have him closing games for their team.
That being said, the Padres are one of the top teams in the NL, so it makes sense for them to keep Miller and hope they can make a deep playoff run next season.
Mason Miller Sweeps NL Reliever of the Year Votes for Padres