Cade Smith’s 2026 season was strong enough to put him in the middle of the first BBWAA American League Reliever of the Year race. It just wasn’t enough to win it.
The Guardians right-hander finished second Wednesday in the inaugural Baseball Writers’ Association of America AL Reliever of the Year voting, coming up short in a tight finish against Toronto’s Louis Varland. Varland took the award with 16 first-place votes and 146 total points, while Smith received seven first-place votes and 133 points. Toronto’s Bryan Baker was third with six first-place votes.
Smith was the only reliever to appear on every one of the 30 ballots.
That made the outcome sting a little more, but the numbers only tell part of the story. Smith spent the season giving Cleveland exactly what it needed from the back end of the bullpen: power, control and a calm presence in the biggest spots. When the Guardians needed three outs, or something messier than that, Stephen Vogt kept turning to Smith.
His value went well beyond the award race. For a team that has long made elite relief pitching part of its identity, Smith’s rise was another win for pitching coach Carl Willis, bullpen coach Caleb Longshore and the organization’s pitching development machine.
It also mattered because of the load he carried while Cleveland pushed through a season full of expectations and into the American League Championship Series. That kind of usage has a cost, and the Guardians are already mapping out how to keep their most important bullpen arm fresh for 2027.
During postseason organizational meetings, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Smith and Hunter Gaddis will be among the pitchers getting custom offseason recovery and preparation plans.
“They’ll each have individualized plans in the offseason for what their recovery and then build up looks like as we move forward,” Antonetti said.
General manager Mike Chernoff added a little humor when talking about Smith’s nonstop approach.
“Even Cade Smith said he might take a week off though,” Chernoff joked.
So Smith won’t go into the books as the first winner of the BBWAA’s newest pitching award. But the finish still says plenty about where he stands now: one of the American League’s most feared relievers, and another homegrown bullpen star for Cleveland.
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For the Guardians, the fit is easy to see. They have room to add to the relief group and have been looking for depth that can soak up meaningful innings, especially from the left side. Hill is also being pursued by the Yankees, Mets, Giants and Dodgers, which suggests this could turn into a broader market for a pitcher who still has value even if he is no longer at his peak. [Read more 🡒]