Cease finishes runner-up for AL Cy Young Award

The American League Cy Young Award race ended with Dylan Cease finishing runner-up in the 2026 voting, according to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s announcement released Wednesday.

Cam Schlittler of the Yankees received every first-place vote in the balloting, while Cease collected 22 second-place votes.

Cleveland Guardians left-hander Parker Messick finished third in the vote count, receiving seven second-place votes.

Cease’s case, as described in the announcement tied to his season work, included carrying a no-hitter into the ninth and throwing a one-hit shutout in separate July starts.

The release also pointed to Cease’s overall dominance as part of the runner-up finish, citing a 12.7 strikeouts-per-nine rate that set a Blue Jays record for qualified pitchers and totaling 237 strikeouts, the fourth-most in franchise history.