Wheeler wins comeback award, Sánchez finishes second for Cy Young

Phillies news Wheeler wins comeback award, Sánchez finishes second for Cy Young Jhoan Duran finished second for NL Reliever of the Year, Don Mattingly placed third and Jesús Luzardo joined Sánchez in the Cy Young top five. By Cole Weintraub • Published 23 minutes ago Four Phillies finished among the top three for major National League awards this week, and one came home with a trophy. Zack Wheeler was named MLB’s NL Comeback Player of the Year on Wednesday, while Cristopher Sánchez and Jhoan Duran finished second in BBWAA voting for the Cy Young and Reliever of the Year awards. Jesús Luzardo placed fifth in the Cy Young race. Stream Philadelphia News for free, 24/7, wherever you are with NBC10. WATCH HERE Sánchez was also named to the All-MLB First Team, while Luzardo earned Second Team honors. Don Mattingly finished third for NL Manager of the Year when those results were announced Tuesday. Wheeler’s honor completed a sweep of the two comeback awards. He was previously voted NL Comeback Player by his peers as part of the MLBPA’s Players Choice Awards. MLB’s separate award is determined by a vote of the league’s 30 MLB.com club beat reporters. Wheeler’s 2025 season ended in August after doctors discovered a blood clot near his right shoulder. He underwent thoracic outlet decompression surgery the following month, a procedure that required the removal of his first rib. The 36-year-old returned to the Phillies’ rotation April 25 and went 14-5 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 193 strikeouts over 162 innings. He made 28 starts and averaged 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Philadelphia Phillies Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia. Phillies news 4 hours ago Phillies are trying to fill holes before baseball goes into hibernation Phillies news Nov 10 Aidan Miller will be given a shot to fill one of Phillies' needs in ‘27 Wheeler joins Brad Lidge, who received the honor in 2008, as the second Phillies player to win MLB’s Comeback Player of the Year award. Sánchez came significantly closer to winning the first Cy Young of his career than his lack of first-place votes would suggest. Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski received all 30 first-place votes. Sánchez accumulated 99 points to finish one ahead of Atlanta’s Chris Sale for second. He appeared on every ballot, receiving 17 second-place votes, six thirds, six fourths and one fifth. Sánchez went 18-7 with a 2.91 ERA and 231 strikeouts over 207 innings. He led the majors in wins and Baseball-Reference WAR, becoming the fifth pitcher in Cy Young history to finish as the runner-up in consecutive seasons. He received all 30 second-place votes behind Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes last year. The Phillies have now had a pitcher finish second in NL Cy Young voting six times. Jim Bunning was the runner-up in 1967, followed by Roy Halladay in 2011, Wheeler in 2021 and 2024, and Sánchez in each of the last two seasons. Philadelphia has produced the runner-up in three consecutive years and four of the last six. Halladay remains the franchise’s most recent winner, taking the award unanimously in 2010. Luzardo gave the Phillies two pitchers among the top five. The left-hander finished fifth with 34 points after going 14-5 with a 2.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a career-high 221 strikeouts over 179⅔ innings. Luzardo placed seventh in 2025, making this his first top-five Cy Young finish. Duran was the runner-up to Padres closer Mason Miller for the BBWAA’s inaugural NL Reliever of the Year award. Miller was the unanimous winner, receiving all 30 first-place votes. Duran collected 24 second-place votes, four thirds and one fourth for 110 points. In his first full season with the Phillies, Duran posted a 1.82 ERA and converted 33 of 35 save opportunities. He struck out 84 batters over 59⅓ innings and finished with a 0.99 WHIP. Mattingly received one first-place vote, three second-place votes and 11 thirds in the Manager of the Year race. His 25 points placed him behind Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy and Atlanta’s Walt Weiss. Murphy won the award for the third consecutive year. Mattingly took over a Phillies team that was 9-19 and had lost 10 straight games. Philadelphia went 79-55 under him, reaching the postseason on the final day of the regular season. Mattingly previously won NL Manager of the Year with Miami in 2020. This article tagged under: Phillies news