Muncy and Ohtani named Silver Slugger finalists for 2026

Two Los Angeles Dodgers hitters are finalists for the 2026 Silver Slugger Award.

Louisville Slugger announced the finalists on Thursday, November 7.

Third baseman Max Muncy is one of two candidates for the National League honor at his position.

Shohei Ohtani is the other Dodgers finalist, up for the award at designated hitter.

The Dodgers are also in the running for the team Silver Slugger Award, given to the best offensive club in each league.

They are up against the Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs for that honor.

Silver Slugger Awards have been given out since 1980 to recognize the best offensive player at each position in each league.

The team award was introduced for the 2023 season.

Winners are voted on by Major League managers and coaches, who cannot vote for their own players.

This year's recipients will be announced on Tuesday, November 17, on FanSided's "The Baseball Insiders" podcast, hosted by Adam Weinrib and MLB insider Robert Murray.

MUNCY'S CASE

Muncy played in a career-high 149 games this season.

That came after two seasons with long stints on the injured list.

He led all NL third basemen in OPS (.837), slugging percentage (.490) and wRC+ (129).

He hit .252/.348/.490 with 29 home runs and a career-best 27 doubles.

His 29 homers came with 76 RBIs.

His .837 OPS was tied for 21st in the league.

His .252 batting average still ranked him among the top 100 hitters in baseball.

The other finalist at third base is Alex Bregman of the Chicago Cubs.

Bregman, 32, hit 28 homers this year with 93 RBIs.

His OPS was .819, which ranked 33rd in all of baseball.

He hit .265 overall, tied for 50th in the league.

Bregman also had 33 doubles and 76 walks.

His .265/.355/.464 line came with a 128 wRC+.

Muncy has never won a Silver Slugger Award.

He finished among the top three in voting in 2021 as a first baseman and in 2025 at third base, despite playing in only 100 games that season.

The only Dodgers third baseman to ever win a Silver Slugger was Adrian Beltré in 2004.

OHTANI'S CASE

Ohtani led all NL designated hitters in on-base percentage (.377), OPS (.889), wRC+ (139), doubles (26) and stolen bases (11).

He hit 30 home runs this season.

But he went through a month-plus-long stretch without hitting a home run.

He battled left knee and right biceps injuries during that stretch.

He did not hit a home run after August 18.

His 30 homers still ranked second among NL designated hitters.

He started 134 games as designated hitter.

He was one of only four NL players to start at least 100 games at DH this season.

The others were Kyle Schwarber (147 starts), Iván Herrera (108) and Christian Yelich (106).

Schwarber is the other finalist at DH.

Schwarber tied for the major league lead with 45 home runs.

He hit .232/.354/.503 with a 130 wRC+, 20 doubles, 105 walks, 97 RBI and 95 runs scored.

His 45 homers were tied for first in the league.

He finished three RBIs shy of 100.

His .232 batting average was tied for 114th in baseball.

Ohtani has four Silver Sluggers on his mantel.

He won in 2021 and 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels.

He won in 2024 and 2025 with the Dodgers.

He was also a finalist at DH in 2022.

THE DECIDING FACTOR

The Silver Slugger at DH will come down to which stat the voters value more.

One option: consistent hitting with power across the board, which is Ohtani's profile.

The other option: raw home run production, even with a lower batting average, which is Schwarber's strength.

Ohtani's .889 OPS was sixth in all of baseball.

Schwarber's .232 average was tied for 114th.

But Schwarber's 45 homers tied for the league lead.

At third base, the comparison is similarly close.