On an incredibly active Monday night across the league, Major League Baseball announced the finalists for the Baseball Writers Association of America Awards, including Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Reliever of the Year. 

Among the named finalists were Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy, a finalist for American League Manager of the Year, and starter Payton Tolle, a finalist for American League Rookie of the Year. 

With the Red Sox seven games under .500 on April 25, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow fired Alex Cora and six members of his major league coaching staff, installing Tracy, who had been serving as the Triple-A manager, in his place. 

Under Tracy’s leadership, the Red Sox turned the tide on their season, going 77-58 in the final 135 games of the season, becoming the first American League team to lose 46 of its first 81 games and reach the postseason, joining the 1973 Mets as the only two teams to accomplish the feat. 

If Tracy wins the award, he and his father, Jim, will become the first father-and-son duo to win Manager of the Year honors. The elder Tracy won the National League Manager of the Year award in 2009 after taking over as interim manager of the Colorado Rockies. He would also become the first Red Sox manager to win the award since Jimmy Williams in 1999. 

Tracy is joined by Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable and Tampa Bay Rays skipper Kevin Cash. The winner will be announced on Nov. 10. 

Tolle didn’t start the year on the Red Sox major league roster, but when he was finally recalled on April 23, he immediately made it clear he was there to stay. 

Tolle made 26 starts for the Red Sox, posting a 3.03 ERA, the fifth-lowest mark among American League rookie starters and seventh-lowest in baseball. Tolle also finished in the top five among American League rookie starters in strikeouts per nine innings (10.35, 3rd), walks per nine innings (2.42, 4th), home runs per nine innings (0.91, 4th), WHIP (1.10, T-2nd), fielding independent pitching (3.04, 1st) and fWAR (4.1, 2nd). 

Thanks to his impressive regular season performance, the 23-year-old got the start for Boston in Game 1 of the Wild Card round series against the New York Yankees, where, according to J.P. Long on Twitter/X, he became the youngest pitcher to start Game 1 or Game 2 of a postseason series for the Red Sox since Babe Ruth got the start in Game 1 of the 1918 World Series.

Tolle is joined by Cleveland Guardians starter Parker Messick, who is also a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award, and Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle. The winner will be announced on Nov. 9.