Major League Baseball capped off awards week on Thursday night, naming the Most Valuable Player in the American and National Leagues. Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez unanimously took home the American League award, while Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong earned the honor, also unanimously, in the National League. 

However, further down the ballot on the American League side was a trio of Boston Red Sox hitters: Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu, and Ceddanne Rafaela. 

It was a career year for the 34-year-old in his first season in a Red Sox uniform, posting a slash line of .275/.386/.516/.901 with career highs in home runs (27), RBI (81), on-base percentage and OPS en route to the third All-Star appearance of his career. 

In addition to driving the Red Sox offense, Contreras finished the regular season in the top three among all major league hitters in OPS and wRC+ (151), trailing only Alvarez and Crow-Armstrong. 

Contreras received three fourth-place, one fifth-place, three sixth-place, two seventh-place, three eighth-place, three ninth-place and two 10th-place votes, finishing 10th in voting. This marks the first time in his now 11-year career he has received MVP votes. 

A three-time Gold Glove Award winner in right field, Abreu put together his best season at the plate in 2026. The 27-year-old hit .248/.327/.446/.773 with an American League-leading 38 doubles and career highs in home runs (24) and RBI (76) in a career-high 157 games. 

Abreu continued to provide incredible defense for Boston. Abreu led all fielders in defensive runs saved, with 28, en route to his third straight Gold Glove in right field. 

Abreu followed up his threepeat in Gold Gloves by receiving one fifth-place, one seventh-place, one eighth-place, and two ninth-place votes for MVP, finishing 12th in voting. 

The 26-year-old Gold Glove center fielder had a career year in 2026. Rafaela hit .283/.319/.442/.761, tying a career high with 16 home runs and driving in a career-high 70 runs en route to his first career All-Star nod. 

In addition to his breakout season at the plate, Rafaela continued to cement himself as one of the best defenders in baseball, ranking in the top 10 among all fielders in defensive runs saved (21, T-3rd), fielding run value (16, T-5th), and outs above average (16, T-6th) en route to back-to-back Gold Gloves at the position. 

Like both Contreras and Abreu, Rafaela received MVP votes for the first time in his career, receiving one eighth-place vote and one 10th-place vote, finishing 17th in voting. 

The trio joins a long list of members of the Red Sox organization to receive votes in the BBWAA awards, including Payton Tolle, who finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, Chad Tracy, who finished third in Manager of the Year voting, Sonny Gray, who finished fifth in Cy Young voting, and Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock, who finished in fourth and ninth place, respectively, in Reliever of the Year voting.