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MLB awards: Jacob deGrom, Ronald Acuna Jr. win Comeback honors


Jacob deGrom was already a two-time Cy Young Award winner, a Rookie of the Year winner and an ERA champion. Now he can add Comeback Player of the Year to his list of accolades.

The Texas Rangers right-hander captured the American League Comeback Player of the Year award on Thursday during the MLB awards show in Las Vegas.

Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was chosen as the National League Comeback Player of the Year.

deGrom, 37, missed most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned to make three brief starts for Texas in September 2024, then went 12-8 with a 2.97 ERA in 30 starts this year. deGrom struck out 185 and walked 37 in 172 2/3 innings while earning his fifth career All-Star selection.

Acuna, 27, saw his 2024 season end in May due to a torn left anterior cruciate ligament. He made his 2025 season debut days shy of one year later, and he hit .290 with 21 homers and 42 RBIs in 95 games this year.

Acuna is the second consecutive Atlanta player to win NL Comeback Player of the Year, following Chris Sale.

Shohei Ohtani, honored earlier Thursday as the National League’s Most Valuable Player, captured the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award for the fifth consecutive year.

The two-way Los Angeles Dodgers star batted .282 with 55 homers and 102 RBIs. He led the league in total bases (380), slugging percentage (.622) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (1.014).

Ohtani won the DH award from 2021-23 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. Now he has captured the award twice with the Dodgers.

There was more hardware for Ohtani on Thursday, as he was named the Hank Aaron Award winner as the best offensive player in the NL. It was Ohtani’s third straight after previously winning last year with the Dodgers and in 2023 claiming the AL award with the Angels.

Just like with MVP, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge took home the AL Hank Aaron Award. Judge hit an MLB-best .331 with 53 HRs and 114 RBIs and led all of baseball in on-base percentage (.457), slugging percentage (.688) and OPS (1.144). It was also the third win of the award for Judge.

Milwaukee Brewers general manager Matt Arnold became the first-ever two-time winner of the Executive of the Year Award. He also won last year, and then this year the Brewers posted the best record in the major leagues, 97-65.

The relievers of the year were both previous winners.

Boston Red Sox left-hander Aroldis Chapman captured the Mariano Rivera Award as the AL’s top reliever. He also won the trophy with the New York Yankees in 2019.

Chapman, 37, had 32 saves, a 5-3 record and a 1.17 ERA in 67 outings this year.

New York Mets right-hander Edwin Diaz received the Trevor Hoffman Award, given to the NL’s best reliever. He also won the Hoffman award in 2022, and he won the Rivera award while pitching for the Seattle Mariners in 2018.

Diaz, 31, logged 28 saves, a 6-3 record and a 1.63 ERA in 62 appearances in 2025.

The 2025 All-MLB First and Second Teams were also revealed Thursday, with the Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies leading the way with four selections each. View the entire rosters below.

All-MLB first team
C Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
2B Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
3B Jose Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians
SS Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
OF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
OF Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners
OF Juan Soto, New York Mets
DH Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
SP Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox
SP Max Fried, New York Yankees
SP Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
SP Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
RP Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox
RP Jhoan Duran, Minnesota Twins/Philadelphia Phillies

All-MLB second team
C Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers
1B Nick Kurtz, Athletics
2B Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
3B Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
OF Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees
OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
DH Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
SP Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
SP Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers
SP Cristopher Sánchez, Philadelphia Phillies
SP Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies
SP Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners
RP Edwin Diaz, New York Mets
RP Andres Munoz, Seattle Mariners