{"id":22973,"date":"2026-11-10T21:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T05:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?p=22973"},"modified":"2026-11-10T21:00:53","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T05:00:53","slug":"reliever-roundup-bullpen-bonanza-2026-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/11\/10\/reliever-roundup-bullpen-bonanza-2026-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza: 2026 Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza, 2026 Year-End Rankings and Awards<\/h2>\n

Welcome to Reliever Roundup and Bullpen Bonanza! These analyses and rankings take it to a different level than the other reliever rankings and coverage you\u2019ve seen. We will separate our rankings by closers, setup men, and middle relievers. (We aren\u2019t going to worry about ranking long relievers; instead, we\u2019ll lump them in with the middle relievers.)<\/p>\n

Additionally, we will give out our 2026 Relief Awards! With one exception, these awards are for the regular season only<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For reference, in the 2026 season, the league-wide AL ERA was 4.14. This is for every pitch thrown by any player from an American League team. For the National League \u2014 within the same parameters \u2014 it was 4.20. As for the rest of the stats, statistics are for the 2026 season <\/strong>unless otherwise noted, are for relief appearances only<\/strong>, and exclude position pitchers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

To the reader: we use some statistics you might not recognize. To help you out, we have a glossary page<\/a>. Furthermore, if a stat name is linked, click\/tap it to see, in a new tab, the definition of that stat.<\/p>\n

Click\/tap here to see the ranking method.<\/a><\/p>\n

League Averages:<\/h5>\n

AL \u2014 1.317 WHIP<\/a>, 2.8 HR%<\/a>, 13.1 K\u2013BB%<\/a>, 71.0 ScOtgER%<\/a>, 2.9 GE\/BE<\/a>, 4.049 GE<\/a>, 30.5 IS%<\/a>.
\nNL \u2014 1.313 WHIP, 2.7 HR%, 12.8 K\u2013BB%, 70.7 ScOtgER%, 3.0 GE\/BE, 3.872 GE, 32.7 IS%.<\/p>\n

Away we go!<\/p>\n

Deadbolt Delivered<\/h4>\n

First, we will honor the relief units that slammed the door and threw away the key. Here are the updated totals for Door Slams!<\/p>\n

To get a Door Slam, a team must close out the game with at least three consecutive Goose Eggs. This string must be completely uninterrupted \u2014 there cannot be any Broken Eggs in there, there cannot be any Mehs in there, and there can\u2019t be any situation where the score differential is such that the pitcher doesn\u2019t get any of the three. It must be Goose Egg-Goose Egg-Goose Egg. Bang, bang, bang. At least three in a row.<\/p>\n

Why is this important?<\/em><\/strong> If a team gets a door slam, they completely shut the opponent down<\/em> en route to a narrow victory. When the last outs are on the line, it\u2019s lockdown only. The Door Slam celebrates those nights when the back end doesn\u2019t merely protect the lead \u2014 it shuts the door, throws the deadbolt, and walks away with the key.<\/p>\n

Door Slam Table<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Door Slams by team, 2026 season. A Door Slam is defined as a game that ends with a team getting three or more consecutive Goose Eggs without interruption of any kind.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Door Slam Totals<\/h5>\n

Here is the list of each team\u2019s Door Slam totals for the season. Please note that the Yankees and Orioles had a rained-out game that was never made up, since it was irrelevant to standings order, so they only played 161 games. As you can see from the numbers here, Door Slams are not easy to get and are not common. They aren\u2019t un<\/em>-common \u2014 we typically get at least one per day \u2014 but they aren\u2019t common<\/em>, either.<\/p>\n

The Cincinnati Reds held both the NL and major-league lead, with 14. Second place was a tie between the AL-leading Boston Red Sox and the NL\u2019s Pittsburgh Pirates, with 13 each. The Houston Astros sat alone in fourth, with 12. Four teams had 11 each: the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, and Milwaukee Brewers. Three teams had ten Goose Eggs each: the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Texas Rangers. Five teams \u2014 the Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, and Seattle Mariners \u2014 had nine each. Three teams had eight each: the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays.<\/p>\n

Four teams had seven each: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays. The Detroit Tigers had six. One team had five door slams: the Baltimore Orioles. Four teams had four each: the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, and Washington Nationals. Finally, the San Francisco Giants had one.<\/p>\n

Door Slam Summary<\/h5>\n

In summary, over the course of the 2026 season, there were 251 total Door Slams league\u2011wide. The Reds led with 14, followed by the Pirates and the AL-leading Red Sox with 13. Splitting it up by league, the AL had 130 and the NL had 121.<\/p>\n

2026 Team Relief Corps Power Rankings<\/h4>\n

Time now for the Team Power rankings. These rankings include every pitch thrown in relief by a player wearing their team\u2019s uniform \u2014 excluding position players \u2014 for the 2026 season. The tables below show the scoring breakdown. Teams are ranked in Clutch, Run Prevention, Baserunner Prevention, and Command, weighted as shown. The final score determines the ranking. Zero means right at league average. Positive is better than average, negative is below average. A score of 100 means the team is 100% better than league average; a score of 50 is 50% better; a score of -50 is 50% lower, and so on. Each whole number equals one percentage point. The number in parentheses is that team\u2019s overall score.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pray for a Blowout Win:<\/h5>\n

30. San Francisco Giants<\/strong><\/a> (-17.3)
\n29. Washington Nationals<\/strong><\/a> (-14.1)<\/p>\n

Stock Up on Tums:<\/h5>\n

28. Kansas City Royals<\/strong><\/a> (-9.7)
\n27. Detroit Tigers<\/strong><\/a> (-6.91, rounded to -6.9)
\n26. Colorado Rockies<\/strong><\/a> (-6.90, rounded to -6.9)
\n25. Los Angeles Angels<\/strong><\/a> (-4.3)
\n24. Chicago Cubs<\/strong><\/a> (-1.7)<\/p>\n

Lots of Work to Do:<\/h5>\n

23. Athletics<\/strong><\/a> (-1.4)
\n22. Texas Rangers<\/strong><\/a> (-1.0)
\n21. St. Louis Cardinals<\/strong><\/a> (-0.7)
\n20. Philadelphia Phillies<\/strong><\/a> (1.5)
\n19. Minnesota Twins<\/strong><\/a> (4.5)<\/p>\n

Below Average:
\n<\/strong><\/h5>\n

18. Tampa Bay Rays<\/strong><\/a> (9.0)
\n17. Cincinnati Reds<\/strong><\/a> (10.1)
\n16. Baltimore Orioles<\/strong><\/a> (11.0)<\/p>\n

Above Average:
\n<\/strong><\/h5>\n

15. Chicago White Sox<\/strong><\/a> (12.3)
\n14.\u202fMiami Marlins<\/strong><\/a> (14.3)<\/p>\n

The Good:
\n<\/strong><\/h5>\n

13.\u202fSeattle Mariners<\/strong><\/a> (15.1)
\n12. Houston Astros<\/strong><\/a> (15.6)
\n11. New York Mets<\/strong><\/a> (17.0)
\n10. Atlanta Braves<\/strong><\/a> (18.1)<\/p>\n

The Very Good:
\n<\/strong><\/h5>\n

9. Arizona Diamondbacks<\/strong><\/a> (21.2)
\n8.\u202fNew York Yankees<\/strong><\/a> (22.5)
\n7. Cleveland Guardians<\/strong><\/a> (23.5)
\n<\/strong>6. Pittsburgh Pirates<\/strong><\/a> (23.6)<\/p>\n

Better Take an Early Lead:
\n<\/strong><\/h5>\n

5. Toronto Blue Jays<\/strong><\/a> (24.4)
\n<\/strong>4. Milwaukee Brewers<\/strong><\/a> (24.7)
\n3.\u202fLos Angeles Dodgers<\/strong><\/a> (25.4)
\n2.\u202fBoston Red Sox<\/strong><\/a> (29.5)<\/p>\n

The Elite:
\n<\/strong><\/h5>\n

1.\u202fSan Diego Padres<\/strong><\/a> (36.0)<\/p>\n

Here is the Scatter Plot for the year-end rankings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
2026 Season. (Wk 26 was the last week of the season) Chart, rankings, and ranking methods created by Evan M. Thompson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2026 Team Awards<\/h4>\n

That brings us to the team award winners for 2026. You\u2019ve already seen who they are, but here we\u2019ll go into more detail as to why they earned the score that they did.<\/p>\n

AL Relief Corps of the Year: Boston Red Sox<\/h5>\n

Relevant 2026 Stats and Rankings:<\/p>\n