Major League Baseball has revealed its 2026 Silver Slugger Award finalists, and the Cincinnati Reds managed to land two names on the list despite an offense that ranked among the worst in baseball.
Shortstop Elly De La Cruz and infielder Sal Stewart are both in the mix for the honor. Stewart was listed as a utility candidate, not at first base, where he spent most of his season.
The Silver Slugger goes to the top hitter at each position in each league, with managers and coaches doing the voting. They cannot vote for players on their own club.
De La Cruz is one of three National League shortstops up for the award, alongside Washington’s CJ Abrams and Miami’s Otto Lopez. That said, this looks like a two-player battle.
Lopez put together a solid year at .305/.349/.437, but De La Cruz and Abrams were the more productive bats. De La Cruz finished at .283/.365/.515 with 30 home runs and 79 RBI in 143 games for Cincinnati.
Abrams posted .261/.336/.497 with 33 home runs and 106 RBI for the Nationals.
The utility race is more crowded. Stewart will go against Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr.
Bauers brings the strongest rate numbers in the group, hitting .266/.389/.484 with 26 home runs and 86 RBI, and his 140 OPS+ leads the way. The catch is that he logged 578 plate appearances.
Stewart had 700 plate appearances and hit .263/.330/.457 with 32 home runs and 111 RBI. His 117 OPS+ is well above average, though not close to Bauers’ mark. Tatis Jr. also had the volume edge, with 704 plate appearances, and he hit .289/.358/.470 with 25 home runs and 83 RBI.
If voters lean heavily on rate stats, Bauers has the edge. If they give more weight to the extra plate appearances and counting numbers, Stewart and Tatis Jr. have a real case.
Tatis was better than Stewart across the rate categories, but Stewart’s home run and RBI totals stand out. The way voters balance those factors could decide the outcome.
The winners will be announced on November 17.
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