Braves Ace Chris Sale Named Cy Young Finalist Once Again

After having arguably one of his best seasons, the Atlanta Braves lefty is a Cy Young Finalist once again

Chris Sale is once again being recognized as a top pitcher in the National League | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Chris Sale’s late-career run of dominance receives another piece of recognition. He’s been named a Cy Young finalist once again. The other two finalists in the National League are Jacob Misiorowski and Cristopher Sánchez. 

Your 2026 @officialBBWAA NL Cy Young Award finalists:

Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers
Chris Sale, Braves
Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies pic.twitter.com/SY9wgVugvX

— MLB (@MLB) November 3, 2026

The winner of the awards in both the American League and National League will be announced on Nov. 11.

This is the second time in three seasons with the Atlanta Braves that he has been named a finalist for the award. The other time, he took the award home, marking the first and only time he has won the Cy Young. 

It's the fourth time in his career he's a finalist for the Cy Young, and the ninth time he's received votes.

In 27 regular-season starts, Sale posted a 2.16 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. By ERA, it was his third-best in a season in his career, and for WHIP, it was his fourth-best. 

Among pitchers in the National League, his ERA was second behind Misiorowski, and his WHIP was third behind Misiorowski and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. 

His 200 strikeouts marked the ninth time in his career that he’s reached that benchmark. 

Sale will continue his quest for 3,000 career strikeouts next season. He currently has 2,779 in his career. It should come sometime either late next season or in early 2028.  

Of the three finalists for the award, Misiorowski is still the heavy favorite, but this finish is still a worthy testament to how dominant he’s been for the Atlanta. He’s their ace. He’s as reliable as they come. 

When the postseason arrived, he was there to jump in both as a starter and as backend reliever. It’s as valuable as it gets. 

The Braves and Sale agreed to an extension during spring training, so he’s locked up for at least next season, with a $27 million price. He has a club option for 2028 worth $30 million.

Enjoy our content? Make BravesOnSI a Preferred Source to see more stories from us on Google: https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=si.com