Red Sox place five players among ESPN’s top MLB award contenders originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox might not have the favorite for any of Major League Baseball’s biggest individual awards. They do have something no other team can easily match: candidates everywhere.
Five Red Sox players appeared prominently across three categories in ESPN’s latest MLB Awards Watch. Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela ranked among the top five candidates for American League MVP, while Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett landed in the top 10 for AL Rookie of the Year.
Veteran right-hander Sonny Gray also appeared eighth in the AL Cy Young race. The rankings were produced through AXE, an ESPN rating system that combines several value metrics, including Baseball Reference WAR, FanGraphs WAR, win probability added and championship probability added.
AXE does not reflect the official vote. It provides a consensus measurement of each player’s overall value. By that measurement, Boston’s roster is loaded with some of the most impactful players in the American League.
Contreras and Rafaela enter MVP conversationContreras ranked fourth in the AL MVP standings with a 129.5 AXE rating. Rafaela followed closely behind at 129. Only Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Detroit Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle ranked ahead of Boston’s duo.
Contreras has given the Red Sox exactly what they hoped to receive when they acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals during the offseason. The 34-year-old has provided middle-of-the-order power while successfully transitioning to first base. His ability to impact the game offensively without becoming a defensive liability has made him one of Boston’s most important players.
Rafaela’s value comes from a different combination. The 2026 All-Star supplies power, speed and Gold Glove-caliber defense at one of the sport’s most demanding positions. His three-hit performance in Sunday’s 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants helped Boston complete a series sweep and improve to 71-59.
Rafaela also drove in two runs, increasing his season total to 66. Neither player is likely to catch Alvarez if the Houston slugger completes his pursuit of the Triple Crown. Their positions on the leaderboard still illustrate why Boston remains firmly in the playoff race.
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Rookie pitchers give Boston even more hopeTolle placed fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year race with a 117.7 AXE rating. Bennett ranked 10th at 110.1.
The two young left-handers have become vital members of Boston’s rotation during a season in which injuries forced the club to test its pitching depth. Bennett improved to 8-6 by working seven innings in Sunday’s win over San Francisco. He allowed three earned runs, struck out six and threw 65 of his 84 pitches for strikes.
Tolle has supplied swing-and-miss stuff and earned increasingly important assignments as the season progressed. Boston also had Gray ranked eighth in the AL Cy Young standings. The veteran had 16 wins at the time of ESPN’s evaluation, keeping him on the fringe of a tightly contested race led by Yankees starter Cam Schlittler and Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease.
The Red Sox may finish the season without an individual award winner. That should not obscure what the list says about their roster.
Boston has two MVP-caliber position players, two of the league’s best rookies and a veteran Cy Young candidate helping lead its postseason chase. That collection of talent makes the Red Sox far more dangerous than their place in the standings might suggest.
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