Yordan Alvarez’s 2026 season has already put him in rare company, and now it has earned him another piece of hardware.
The Astros slugger was named to the All-MLB First Team at designated hitter on Wednesday night in Las Vegas during The MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards. The honor fits the kind of year Alvarez put together: he didn’t just hit for average, he controlled the entire offensive leaderboard.
Alvarez won the American League batting title by hitting .316, while also pacing the league in on-base percentage (.432), slugging percentage (.601), OPS (1.033), offensive WAR (7.2), total bases (341), walks (109) and extra-base hits (77). He also finished second in RBIs with 106 and tied for second in home runs with 42, both career highs.
That power-and-contact blend put him in a very small historical club. Alvarez became the third player since 1970 to win the AL batting title while hitting at least 40 homers, joining Aaron Judge (2025) and Miguel Cabrera (2012-13).
The awards have piled up along the way, too. Alvarez was named AL Player of the Month twice, taking home the honor for March/April and again in July. Across the season, he led the Majors in batting average, OBP and slugging percentage.
He also made pitchers pay when they tried to avoid him. Alvarez drew 33 intentional walks, breaking Jeff Bagwell’s club record of 27 set in 1997. In AL history, only Judge has drawn more in a season, with 36 in 2025.
And when Houston needed a swing that changed a game, Alvarez kept delivering. On June 12 in Kansas City, he launched a two-run homer and a grand slam in a nine-run first inning, driving in a franchise-record six runs in one inning.
On July 4 at Daikin Park, he homered twice, including a two-run walk-off shot to straightaway center in a comeback win over the eventual AL champion Rays. Then on Aug. 2, he went 4-for-5 as Houston completed a sweep of the first-place Rangers for its sixth straight victory.
Alvarez is also one of three finalists for the American League Most Valuable Player Award, alongside Junior Caminero of the Rays and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals. The league’s MVP winners will be announced at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday on MLB Network.
If Alvarez wins, he would join Bagwell, who won the National League MVP in 1994, and Jose Altuve, the AL winner in 2017, as the only MVPs in Astros history.
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Yordan Is Back In The Astros Spotlight For An Even Bigger Prize
Yordan Alvarezs return to the spotlight added another layer to an already notable MLB Awards night, with the Astros slugger earning Comeback Player of the Year honors in the American League. The award, voted on by MLB.com club beat reporters, recognizes players who re-emerged over the course of the season, and Alvarez was joined by Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler as the National League winner.
For Houston, it was another reminder of how quickly Alvarez reestablished himself after a season interrupted by injury and how central he remains to the clubs plans moving forward. The award itself is a nice marker of the turnaround, but it also serves as a setup for the bigger question around Alvarez now, one that goes beyond simply getting back to form. [Read more 🡒]
Yordan Alvarez Just Added Another Milestone To His Dominant Astros Run
Yordan Alvarez keeps stacking honors in a run that has already made him one of the most feared hitters in the game, and the latest recognition only adds to the sense that his 2026 season stood among the best in the league. The Astros slugger was among the players celebrated for elite offensive production, with his bat carrying the kind of impact that has become familiar in Houston.
Pete Crow-Armstrong also earned a share of the spotlight for the Cubs, but the focus in Houston is on what Alvarez continues to mean to the lineup and the standard he has set. For the Astros, the award is another reminder of how consistently he has delivered at the center of their offense, and how much his presence still shapes the conversation around the club's future. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Just Sent A Strong Message About Yordan Alvarez
The Astros are making it clear they have no interest in entertaining the idea of moving Yordan Alvarez, even with rival clubs surely circling a player of his caliber. General manager Randy Flores pointed to Alvarezs standing as one of the games premier hitters and noted that he still has two years left on his contract, a combination that gives Houston both control and confidence as the slugger continues to anchor the middle of the lineup.
Flores also didnt leave much room for interpretation when asked about trade inquiries, treating the subject more like a joke than a serious possibility. That kind of response says plenty about how Houston views Alvarez, especially with the star outfielder also sitting among the leading candidates for American League MVP honors and reinforcing why the Astros would rather build around him than even entertain offers. [Read more 🡒]