The 2026 Manager of the Year race comes with a little of everything: a turnaround in Tampa Bay, a jolt in Boston, a revival in Chicago, steady excellence in Milwaukee and a first-year spark in Atlanta. The six finalists all reached the postseason, but they got there in very different ways.
In the American League, the Rays gave the clearest answer to the “how did this happen?” question.
After missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, Tampa Bay was widely pegged for fifth in the AL East. FanGraphs opened the year projecting a 79-83 finish, a 25.2% shot at the postseason and just a 4.3% chance to win the division.
Instead, the Rays rolled to a 98-64 record, won the AL East by 4 1/2 games and grabbed the league’s top postseason seed.
Chad Tracy’s case is built on the kind of sudden responsibility that can swallow a manager whole. On April 25, he was still running Triple-A Worcester.
Shortly after that game, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow called and told him to head to Baltimore, where he was named interim manager after the surprise firing of Alex Cora. Tracy didn’t bring panic with him.
He brought calm, and Boston responded. The Red Sox were 32-46 on June 25 and owned the worst winning percentage in the American League at .410.
From there, they ripped off a 32-5 run that dragged them back into the race and into the postseason picture.
Will Venable’s season in Chicago was the kind that changes the conversation around a franchise. The White Sox had lost 100-plus games in each season from 2023 through 2025, including a Modern Era record 121 losses in 2024.
For four straight years, they were not a real playoff threat. Then 2026 arrived with 84 wins, the sixth seed and third Wild Card in the American League, plus the organization’s first postseason series victory since the ‘05 World Series run.
The National League finalists bring their own set of storylines. Don Mattingly took over a Phillies team that was in rough shape on April 26, when a Sunday loss to the Braves in Atlanta dropped them to 9-19.
The night before, they had finally snapped a 10-game losing streak, but the outlook was still bleak enough for Dave Dombrowski to fire Rob Thomson on April 28 and hand the job to Mattingly. Philadelphia then played like a different club, posting the fourth-best record in baseball the rest of the way and clinching the third NL Wild Card on the season’s final day.
Pat Murphy is trying to do something nobody has done before. He was already the first Brewers manager to win this award after guiding Milwaukee to a division title in 2024 in his first season on the job.
He followed that with a franchise-record and Major League-leading 97 wins in 2025, which made him one of only four managers to win the award in consecutive years. Now he’s coming off another franchise record, this time 103 wins.
No manager has ever taken home the honor three straight times.
Walt Weiss made his mark in Atlanta in a different way. In his first season as the Braves’ skipper, he showed his players he was in the fight with them.
That was on display April 7, when he tackled Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler during a benches-clearing brawl. Atlanta answered with a 20-6 stretch, seized early control of the NL East and never really let go.
In Other News...
Chris Sale Has Turned Into A Bigger Braves Question Than Expected
Chris Sale arrived in Atlanta with the usual questions that follow a pitcher with an injury history and a long track record, but the early takeaway has been less about survival than dominance. Over the past three seasons, he has piled up results that place him near the top of the sport in ERA, FIP and pitching run value, the kind of production that makes it hard to treat him like a short-term gamble.
Sales age only sharpens the conversation for the Braves, because very few starters have managed this kind of sustained excellence deep into their 30s. He is one of the rare pitchers to put together three straight seasons with an ERA+ above 160, which leaves Atlanta weighing not just what he has already given them, but how much longer this version of Sale might still be out there. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Just Drew A Hard Line Around Ronald Acua Jr
Ronald Acua Jr. is not going anywhere this winter, and Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos made sure that point came through clearly while outlining the clubs offseason priorities. Acua remains central to everything Atlanta wants to do, even after an injury-marred season, and the front office is treating his return as part of the foundation rather than a variable to move on from.
With that line drawn, the Braves can focus on the rest of the roster, starting with a rotation that needs attention and a shortstop situation that still has to be sorted out. Left field and the bullpen are also on the list, and Atlanta is looking at ways to add right-handed bats while filling out the lineup around Acua instead of imagining life without him. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Offseason Plan May Ride On Didier Fuentes And Ray Kerr
Didier Fuentes and Ray Kerr have given the Braves something to think about as the offseason begins, and it is not just about depth. Fuentes broke through in 2026 as one of the leagues better relievers and was already being viewed as a possible rotation candidate, while Kerr played a meaningful role in Atlantas postseason push. For a club that always has to balance present needs with long-term planning, those two names now sit near the center of the conversation.
What the Braves decide to do with them could shape the way they attack the pitching market. If the organization treats Fuentes and Kerr as viable options to start, it would suggest a different kind of winter than one built around an outside addition, and the next round of official comments should offer the first real clue about which direction Atlanta is leaning. [Read more 🡒]