Cease and Varland earn All-MLB First Team spots as MLB Awards unveil 2026 First/Second squads

Major League Baseball unveiled the 2026 All-MLB First and Second Teams on Wednesday as part of the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards, with the event held at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and broadcast on MLB Network.

The All-MLB selections split player slots across the field, including catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base, designated hitter, three outfield positions, five starting pitchers, and two relievers. Voters were instructed to consider only regular-season performance.

On the First Team, the Blue Jays were represented by starting pitcher Dylan Cease and reliever Louis Varland. Cease was named among the five starting pitchers, while Varland earned one of the two reliever spots.

Cease’s 2026 regular season included 239 strikeouts and a 2.40 ERA across 169 innings, and he was recognized for earning his first All-Star nod that year. Varland’s First Team selection came after a 1.27 ERA over 78 innings, with 97 strikeouts and 35 saves.

Across the entire 32-player set, the World Series champion Brewers led all clubs with four All-MLB selections, followed by the Rays with three. The teams also featured first-time winners and a mix of position players and pitchers reflecting regular-season production.

The First Team also included a slate of award-winning position benchmarks such as Gabriel Moreno (catcher), Pete Alonso (first base), Brice Turang (second base), Junior Caminero (third base), Bobby Witt Jr. (shortstop), Yordan Alvarez (DH), plus outfielders Pete Crow-Armstrong, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Jackson Chourio, along with additional starting pitchers and relievers named alongside Cease and Varland.