If the results of the Major League Baseball Players Association’s poll is to be believed, then the winner of the 2026 American League Comeback Player of the Year award will be Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros. And if that does indeed, happen, a member of the Tampa Bay Rays will have been sorely overlooked.
Against literally all expectations, the Rays enjoyed an extraordinary 2026 season, winning the American League pennant and reaching the World Series for only the third time in franchise history. Along the way, they received some outstanding contributions from players who had been largely overlooked elsewhere. But none were more impressive than lefty reliever Cam Booser, whose remarkable and rapid ascent to the back end of one of the game’s best rotations has nevertheless gone largely unrecognised in the discussion surrounding the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
From Nowhere To One Of The Best
Despite starting the year in the minors, Booser, 34, finished the regular season with a truly excellent 1.98 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 41 innings across 42 appearances. He allowed fewer than eight baserunners per nine innings and established himself as one of the most effective left-handed relievers in the American League, winning the spot over long-time workhorse Garrett Cleavinger. Furthermore, Booser was not just an excellent Major League pitcher – he was also, for all intents and purposes, a fully fledged Major League pitcher with job security for the very first time.
It was an enormous improvement on Boozer’s 2025 campaign with the then-still-poor Chicago White Sox, during which he struggled to a 5.52 ERA in 31 innings. Prior to that, Booser’s only previous MLB experience was with the Boston Red Sox in 2024, where he had shown signs in 42.0 innings of good work but needed to consolidate them if he was to have an MLB career at all. He did not, though, and arrived with the Rays on merely a minor league deal.
Booser did not make the Rays’ Opening Day roster, instead spending the first two months of the season with the Durham Bulls. He performed well there, however, recording a 1.80 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 20 innings, before finally receiving his promotion on May 31. From that point onwards, he became an increasingly important part of Kevin Cash’s bullpen. By September, with fellow left-hander Cleavinger sidelined, Booser had established himself as Tampa Bay’s primary left-handed setup option. He finished the season with 11 holds, having conceded only four earned runs in 16.2 innings between the beginning of August and mid-September. As the leverage in hs outings got higher, the quality of his performances never got any lower.
Booser’s Winding Road To The Rays
Booser’s success also continued into the postseason, when he made nine appearances during the Rays’ run to the World Series. Although his overall postseason ERA of 5.68 was considerably higher than his regular-season mark – largely attributable to his role in the blowout loss in Game 2 of the World Series – he contributed several important outs, including escaping a bases-loaded situation against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.
In the MLBPA’s Players Choice awards, though, Booser’s achievements received comparatively little attention in the Comeback Player of the Year conversation. Alvarez was the winner of both that and the AL Outstanding Player award, and while there is no doubt that he is an Outstanding player, it seems impossible to say that his comeback has been more impressive. Alvarez was hurt in the line of duty, and healed – it happens all the time. But by contrast, Booser was not just out of the majors, but out of baseball altogether, ne’er to return. Until he did.
Booser’s route to the major leagues was exceptionally unconventional. Originally signed by the Minnesota Twins as an undrafted free agent in 2013, he endured numerous injuries and personal difficulties (including a car accident and a drug-related suspension) before stepping away from professional baseball in 2017. He spent several years outside the sport, working as a carpenter and rebuilding his life following struggles with addiction.
Booser eventually returned through independent baseball, earning another opportunity in affiliated ball before finally making his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox in April 2024, shortly before his 32nd birthday. His perseverance was recognised later that year when he received the Tony Conigliaro Award, presented to a player who has overcome significant adversity.
For a pitcher who once appeared to have lost both his opportunities and his desire to play professional baseball altogether, becoming a crucial member of the American League champions is an achievement worthy of recognition. Whether or not the voters acknowledge it, then, Cam Booser has already completed one of the more remarkable comebacks in recent baseball history. If this is not a comeback, then what is?
Rays Reliever Should Win Comeback Player of the Year Award