Bellinger and Rice make the Silver Slugger finals; winners come November 17

Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice are the Yankees’ two finalists for the 2026 Silver Slugger Awards, announced Thursday. Bellinger is in the American League outfield group; Rice is one of two designated-hitter finalists, alongside Houston’s Yordan Álvarez. The Yankees confirmed both nominations on their official account.

Winners will be announced November 17 at 6 p.m. Eastern on The Baseball Insiders YouTube channel, according to FanSided’s finalist announcement. The show will originate from the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. That gives the offensive awards a separate date from next week’s BBWAA announcements.

The numbers behind the two nominations

Rice’s case begins with sustained power. MLB’s regular-season record credits him with 41 home runs, 97 runs batted in and 105 runs scored over 154 games. He hit .264 with a .363 on-base percentage and .534 slugging percentage, producing an .897 OPS. His 85 walks helped keep that production from depending solely on home runs.

Bellinger also hit .264, but reached that average through a different season: 17 home runs, 25 doubles and three triples in 132 games. He finished with a .338 on-base percentage, .429 slugging percentage and .767 OPS. The identical batting averages conceal a 130-point difference in OPS, a useful reminder of how much power and walks add to a hitter’s value.

Their categories matter as much as that comparison. Rice is competing at designated hitter; Bellinger is one of nine outfield finalists, a group that includes Mike Trout, Riley Greene and Randy Arozarena. A direct comparison between the two Yankees describes their seasons, but cannot resolve two different award races.

How the award is decided

Louisville Slugger says managers and coaches evaluate offensive statistics and their overall assessment of each player’s offensive contribution. They cannot vote for their own players. Fielding is therefore outside the award’s stated offensive criteria. FanSided reports that each club supplies four ballots, one from its manager and three from coaches.

Elsewhere on the announced ballot, Jake Bauers is nominated at both first base and utility for Milwaukee. Fernando Tatis Jr. appears at outfield and utility, while Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle appears at shortstop and utility. Those multiple nominations make positional categories part of the story. All remain finalists until the November 17 results.