Chris Sale AL Cy Young Finalist; Andrew Benintendi Finalist For AL Rookie Of The Year
BOSTON (CBS) -- A pair of Red Sox are up for some hardware this offseason.
Lefty starter Chris Sale is one of three finalists for the AL Cy Young award, while left fielder Andrew Benintendi is in the running for the AL Rookie of the Year.
Sale dominated in his first season in Boston, going 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA while leading all of baseball with 308 strikeouts. He finished just five Ks behind Pedro Martinez's Red Sox record set during his magical 1999 campaign.
He has some stiff competition in his Cy Young bid, with Cleveland's Corey Kluber (18-4, 2.25 ERA with 265 strikeouts) and New York's Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98 ERA with 230 strikeouts) the two other finalists. Sale has never won a Cy Young award, but has finished in the Top 5 in each of the last five seasons while with the Chicago White Sox.
Benintendi is also facing some tough competition, highlighted by Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge. Baltimore Orioles Trey Mancini is the other finalist in the American League, with Judge the favorite to win the award.
The 23-year-old Benintendi put up impressive numbers in his first full season in the majors, slashing .271/.353/.424 while clubbing 20 home runs and driving in 90 runs. If he wins this year's honor, he'd be the first Red Sox player to win Rookie of the Year since Dustin Pedroia claimed the award back in 2007.
This year's Rookie of the Year winners will be announced on November 13, while the Cy Young winners will be announced on November 15.