Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge named finalists for MVP awards

NEW YORK — Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge are in the running for consecutive MVP awards.

Ohtani joined Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto as finalists for the National League honor. Judge, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez are in the mix for American League MVP.

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt and Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy also could be repeat winners when the results are announced next week. Skubal, Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown and Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet are finalists for the AL Cy Young Award.

Brown secured an extra selection for Houston after the first round in next year’s amateur draft under the collective bargaining agreement’s prospect promotion incentive. He earned the pick because he was among the top 100 prospects from at least two of Baseball America, ESPN and MLB.com heading into the 2023 season, accrued a full season of service in his rookie season and had a top-three finish in Cy Young voting before he became arbitration eligible.

Ohtani is going for his second MVP award with the Dodgers and his fourth overall. He also won with the Angels in 2021 and 2023. Judge is trying for his third MVP win — all with the Yankees.

Ohtani, 31, hit .282 with 55 homers and 102 RBIs in 158 games this year, helping the Dodgers win a second straight World Series championship. The Japanese right-hander also went 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts in his return to the mound after a second major elbow surgery.

Judge, 33, batted .331 with 53 homers, 114 RBIs and a major league-leading 1.145 OPS in 152 games with New York. He also was voted MVP in 2022.

While Ramírez was terrific once again, the AL MVP race is expected to come down to Judge and Raleigh, a switch-hitting catcher who led the majors with 60 homers for Seattle during the regular season.

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The top three finishers in voting for each of the major individual awards presented annually by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America were announced Monday night on MLB Network. Balloting is conducted before the postseason.

World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers is a finalist for the NL Cy Young, along with Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes and Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez. Skenes was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2024.

Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin, Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton and Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin are competing for top NL rookie this year.

The finalists for AL Rookie of the Year are Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony and the Athletics’ duo of Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson. Kurtz hit .290 with 36 homers and 86 RBIs in 117 games for the A’s, and Wilson batted .311 in 125 games.

Vogt was joined by Toronto’s John Schneider and Seattle’s Dan Wilson as finalists for AL Manager of the Year. Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson and Cincinnati’s Terry Francona are in the mix for the NL honor with Murphy.