Historically, relief pitchers rarely win Cy Young Awards. The last reliever to capture the prize was Eric Gagne in 2003, when he logged 82.1 innings across 77 appearances with a 1.20 ERA, 337 ERA+, 55 saves, and 3.7 bWAR for the Dodgers. The voting landscape since then has increasingly favored starters and higher bWAR figures.
In 2025, Cy Young voting underscored that trend. Tarik Skubal won the AL Cy Young with the league’s top bWAR figure at 6.5, while the NL winner Paul Skenes finished with 7.7 bWAR, and Cristopher Sanchez led the NL with 8 bWAR but finished second. Aroldis Chapman did receive votes, totaling about 2% and finishing seventh with a 1.17 ERA and 32 saves, illustrating the difficulty a closer faces in crossing the bWAR threshold.
The broader historical pattern reinforces the challenge for relievers. The last time a reliever finished in the top three in Cy Young voting was Emmanuel Clase in 2024 (AL), who posted a 0.61 ERA, 4.4 bWAR and 47 saves but trailed in the final scoring behind Skubal’s 6.7 bWAR. Beyond those seasons, Cy Young winners have typically posted at least 5 bWAR, with few exceptions for elite relievers.
Despite the numbers, Miller’s current trajectory has sparked a fanside counterculture: Padres supporters have begun championing him as a potential Cy Young contender. Social-media chatter and early betting markets have elevated him as an emerging NL frontrunner, framing his early success as a possible historic achievement if sustained.
Padres fans and analysts alike will monitor Miller’s development as the season progresses, weighing his dominant starts against the historical hurdles faced by relievers in Cy Young contention. If his strikeout pace and efficiency endure, Miller could redefine the ceiling for a relief pitcher, even as the broader award landscape remains heavily weighted toward high-WAR starters.
