This year marked the first time the BBWAA Reliever of the Year Award was given out. Instead of the former Mariano Rivera (AL) and Trevor Hoffman (NL) awards, which will still be given out and are voted on by a panel of former relief pitchers, the BBWA award is voted on by writers (two from each MLB city in each respective league) based on regular-season performances.
It is now the official award going forward for MLB relief pitchers.
Louis Varland - American League
Varland's 1.27 ERA led all qualified relievers, and he led with 16 first-place votes. The St. Paul, Minnesota native tossed a career-high 97 strikeouts in 78 innings, posting 35 saves (37 opportunities). He came up just 10 saves short of the franchise record set by Duane Ward in 1991.
No Blue Jays pitcher has ever won the Mariano Rivera Award before the BBWA one was introduced, making Varland the first-ever Blue Jays reliever to receive an official award to cap off his first-ever All-Star season in his five-year career.
He narrowly beat out Cade Smith (Cleveland Guardians - 6 first-place votes) and Bryan Baker (Tampa Bay Rays - 5).
Mason Miller - National League
Unlike Varland, Miller won the award for the National League by unanimous vote after leading the NL in games forced (57) and saves (38 - tied with Riley O'Brien). He finished the season with a career-best 1.67 ERA and 129 strikeouts, blowing out his previous best of 104 in each of the previous two seasons.
Miller gave up just 37 hits and 26 walks in 70 innings of work, posting a .900 WHIP and a career best in both strikeouts per nine innings (16.6) and strikeouts-to-walk ratio (4.96).
His 34.2 scoreless innings dating back to 2025 set a Padres record.