For the first time since November 2023, someone other than Aaron Judge won the AL MVP award last night, with Yordan Alvarez taking home his first MVP. The last full-season AL MVP to go to someone other than Judge or Shohei Ohtani was Mike Trout in 2019. The junior circuit has been to an extent defined for the last decade by the exploits of those three greats, Judge, Ohtani, and Trout, though Alvarez’s breakthrough probably represents more of a career peak for the DH than it does a passing of the torch.
It’ll be a relatively quiet day on the site as we ease into another offseason weekend. In the morning, you can catch Josh’s discussion of Luis Garcia’s Jr.‘s fine, if lackluster, debut with the Yankees, as well as Matt’s appreciation of Mel Stottlemyre, who would’ve turned 85 today.
Questions/Prompts:
1. If the Yankees were to deal from their starting pitching surplus this winter, who would you most expect them to shop, and who would you be most OK with them shopping?
2. Which of last night’s MVP award winners has the best shot at going back-to-back next year? And which of the Cy Young Award winners?
