With awards season arriving after the World Series, the Reds may be out of the postseason picture, but they still have several players with hardware in play.
The biggest spotlight falls on first baseman Sal Stewart, who looks like a strong National League Rookie of the Year contender after a huge 2026 season. The 22-year-old hit .263 with a .787 OPS, 32 home runs and 112 RBIs while appearing in all 162 games for Cincinnati. He became just the second Reds player ever to post a 30-homer rookie season, joining Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who hit 38 in 1956.
Stewart also carved out a place in franchise history with his bat. He was the only Cincinnati rookie to finish with both 30 homers and 100 RBIs, a feat reached by only 14 rookies across the AL and NL.
Before the end of August, he had already broken the Reds’ rookie RBI record. Across the National League rookies, he finished first in home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits with 57 and total bases with 285.
His 164 hits were tied for second among NL rookies and marked the most by a Reds rookie since Pete Rose’s 170 in 1963. He also ranked second in runs with 87 and third in walks with 63.
The historical company is hard to miss, too. Since the Rookie of the Year Award was introduced in 1947, every player who had put up a 30-homer, 100-RBI rookie season and reached that mark before Stewart had gone on to win the award: Walt Dropo in 1950, Ron Kittle in 1983, José Canseco in 1986, Mark McGwire in 1987, Mike Piazza in 1993, Albert Pujols in 2001, José Abreu in 2014, Aaron Judge in 2017 and Pete Alonso in 2019.
Stewart figures to be in the mix with the Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt and Mets rookies Carson Benge and Nolan McLean. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America finalists will be announced Nov. 2 on MLB Network, and the winners of the NL and American League Rookie of the Year Awards will follow on Nov. 9, also on MLB Network.
There is already some early momentum behind Stewart. He has earned top NL rookie honors from Sporting News, via a player vote, and from the MLB Players Association’s Players Choice Awards.
The last Reds player to win Rookie of the Year was Jonathan India in 2021.
Stewart isn’t the only Red with a chance to pick up recognition. He, shortstop Elly De La Cruz and starting pitcher Chase Burns were all nominated for the 2026 All-MLB Team. The winners will be announced Nov. 11 at the fourth annual MLB Awards in Las Vegas, with first- and second-team honors going to the season’s top performers.
De La Cruz put together another explosive season, batting .283 with an .880 OPS, 30 homers, 79 RBIs and 30 steals in 143 games. That made him the fourth Reds player to record a 30-homer, 30-steal season and the first since Brandon Phillips in 2007.
Burns also put together a season that should draw attention. He went 15-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 29 starts in his second pro season, striking out 185 batters in 154 1/3 innings.
He is not expected to win the NL Cy Young Award, but he could still receive BBWAA votes, and that award will be revealed Nov. 11.
In Other News...
Reds Infield Overhaul Could Hinge On One Surprising Market
The Reds infield picture is suddenly looking a lot less settled than it did a few weeks ago, with the club weighing how to replace KeBryan Hayes at third base while also sorting out what comes next at first. One option on the table is shifting Sal Stewart across the diamond, but the bigger ripple effect may come from how Cincinnati handles second base and Matt McLain, whose uneven play has made the position part of the broader offseason conversation.
That is where the market gets interesting for a team trying to stretch its budget without leaving holes elsewhere. If the Reds decide to add at second base, it could free them to solve more than one problem at once, and the pool of available options gives them a few different ways to do it. The question now is whether Cincinnati treats that spot as a priority or uses it as the key that unlocks the rest of the infield plan. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Suddenly Face A Costly Closer Decision This Offseason
Emilio Pagn gave the Reds a steady finish in the back half of the 2026 season, and that late surge has now turned into an offseason dilemma. His work down the stretch made him one of the more interesting bullpen arms on Cincinnatis market, and it also put the club in position to decide whether it wants to keep leaning on a veteran closer or shift the late-inning job elsewhere.
Cincinnati now has to weigh the cost of bringing Pagn back against the possibility that another team will push the bidding higher on the open market. If the Reds choose not to go that route, the conversation quickly turns to the internal options already in house, with the bullpen hierarchy potentially changing in a hurry before next season even begins. [Read more 🡒]
Elly De La Cruz Trade Talk Just Put Pressure On The Reds
The trade-deadline chatter around Elly De La Cruz has only intensified since former MLB general manager Jim Bowden said the Red Sox put together a strong offer for the Reds at the August 3 deadline, only to be turned away. For Cincinnati, that kind of interest underscores just how valuable De La Cruz has become, even as the club continues to build around one of the most electric young talents in the game.
Bowden also suggested the Reds are likely to at least weigh trade possibilities again this offseason, which puts an uncomfortable spotlight on where the organization goes from here. Any serious conversation would surely start with a massive return, and the Dodgers have already been floated in speculative scenarios, but for now the bigger story is the pressure Cincinnati faces when a player this dynamic starts drawing that level of attention. [Read more 🡒]