Yankees ace Gerrit Cole led a strong campaign for the 2023 American League Cy Young Award, and he entered the offseason as the presumptive favorite. The first step in the MLB awards process is to officially be named a finalist, which is a little silly since it’s not as though there’s a second round to the voting — the three finalists are simply the players who ranked among the top three.
Nonetheless, that’s just how the league does it these days. Cole has officially been named an AL Cy Young Award finalist, alongside former Yankee Sonny Gray of the Twins and division rival Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays.