It’s not much of a debate who the best closers in the game were during the 2025 season. Now, Aroldis Chapman and Edwin Díaz have the hardware to prove it.
The two hurlers received the Reliever of the Year Award in their respective leagues at the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Chapman won Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year honors for the second time in his career, having previously won the award with the Yankees in 2019. Meanwhile, Díaz earned Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year honors for the second time, and his third Reliever of the Year Award overall. He previously won the AL honor with the Mariners in 2018 before winning his first in the NL with the Mets in 2022.
Chapman turned back the clock in his age-37 season with the Red Sox, making his eighth All-Star team. The southpaw led all qualified relievers with a 1.17 ERA and 0.70 WHIP in 61 1/3 innings.
Batters hit just .132 against Chapman, the lowest BA against any qualified reliever. At one point, he retired 50 consecutive batters, a dominant stretch that spanned over two months.
In his 16th MLB season, the flame-throwing Chapman still threw plenty hard: His 99.8 mph average fastball velocity ranked in the 98th percentile of MLB.
Díaz isn’t a stranger to the award, either. He joins Josh Hader as the only players to win three Reliever of the Year Awards since the current iteration of the honor was established in 2014 – and for good reason.
The right-hander pitched to a 1.63 ERA in 66 1/3 innings, the second-best mark of his career and the best among qualified National League relievers. He held the opposition to a .164 batting average in his third All-Star campaign.
Díaz remains one of the game’s premier strikeout artists, with 98 K’s and a 13.3 K/9 ratio. Wielding a lethal fastball/slider combination, he generated a 41.5% swing-and-miss rate, good for the 99th percentile among MLB pitchers.
Díaz recently opted out of the final two years and $38 million guaranteed on his contract with the Mets, making him a free agent. He’ll be one of the most coveted relievers on the market this offseason.
