Cade Smith named AL Reliever of the Month for September
Right-hander Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) has been named American League Reliever of the Month for September.
September 30, 2025
Official Major League Baseball News Release
Closer Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres has been named the National League Reliever of the Month for September, and relief pitcher Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians has been voted the American League Reliever of the Month for September.
The announcements were made earlier on Tuesday on MLB Network.
Miller claimed his second career Reliever of the Month Award and his first with the Padres after winning in March/April 2024 as a member of the Athletics. Miller is the eighth different Padres reliever to receive the honor, joining Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman (3x: May 2005, September 2006 & May 2007); Heath Bell (April 2009); Brad Hand (2x: July 2017, May 2018); Kirby Yates (April 2019); Mark Melancon (April 2021); Josh Hader (April 2023); and his bullpenmate Robert Suarez (2x: May 2024 and March/April 2025). Smith claimed his first career honor in his second season with the Guardians, becoming just the third Cleveland reliever to receive the recognition, joining Cody Allen (April 2017); and Emmanuel Clase (7x: August 2021, June 2022, August 2022, September/October 2022, May 2024, July 2024 & September 2024). With Smith receiving the honor, a Guardians reliever has now been named Reliever of the Month nine times, marking the third-most for a franchise behind Milwaukee's 14 recognitions and San Diego's 12 recognitions. Smith also joined Ryan Dempster (September 2005); John Axford (July 2011); and Jordan Romano (2x: April 2022, July 2022) as the only Canadian- born relievers to receive a Reliever of the Month recognition.
Mason Miller, San Diego Padres (@mason.j.miller)
-The 27-year-old pitched to a 0.00 ERA (0 ER/12 1/3 IP) while converting his only save opportunity across 11 appearances in which he allowed one hit with five walks, 26 strikeouts, a 0.49 WHIP and a .027 opponents' average.
-The Pennsylvania native's .027 opponents' average was the lowest among all qualified relievers during the month, while his 61.9 strikeout percentage ranked 11.9 percent higher then the second-best reliever.
-The 2024 All-Star's one hit allowed in the month tied with Anthony Banda of the Dodgers for the lowest mark among qualified relievers. In September, Miller became one of just 13 pitchers in Padres' history to appear in 11 games and allow one-or-zero hits.
-Miller has now made 19 consecutive appearances without allowing a run, becoming one of seven relievers to do so this season. During the streak, Miller recorded 39 strikeouts, 14 more than the closest reliever to have such a streak.
-Miller's 26 strikeouts in the month raised his season total to 104, tying his career high set last year, and tied for third-most among all qualified relievers in the 2025 season.
Cade Smith, Cleveland Guardians
-The 26-year-old pitched to a 2.77 ERA (4 ER/13.0 IP) while converting seven of his eight save opportunities across 14 appearances in which he allowed eight hits with no walks, 22 strikeouts, a 0.62 WHIP and a .174 opponents' average.
-The Canada native's seven saves tied for the second-most among all qualified relievers, while his 22 strikeouts ranked second, behind only Miller's 24.
-From September 6 to September 14, Smith appeared six times, recording a save in each game, becoming one of 12 relievers to have six saves in six consecutive appearances this season.
-The right-hander was one of 11 qualified relievers to not give up a walk during the month. After issuing a walk on August 18, Smith went 19 consecutive outings without allowing a free pass, becoming just the seventh reliever this season to have at least 19 consecutive appearances without allowing a walk.
-The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year finalist tied for first among qualified relievers in BB/9 (0.00%); while ranking fourth in strikeout percentage (46.8%); and ending his 2025 campaign ranking eighth in K/9 (12.71) and K/BB (5.47).
Others receiving votes for AL Reliever of the Month included David Bednar (1-0, 1.59 ERA, 11 G, 7-for-7 SV, 11.1 IP, 6 H, 1 HR, 4 BB, 15 SO) of the New York Yankees; Jeff Hoffman (1-1, 0.84 ERA, 11 G, 4-for-4 SV, 10.2 IP, 5 H, 1 HR, 7 BB, 8 SO) of the Toronto Blue Jays; Shawn Armstrong (0-0, 1.29 ERA, 13 G, 4-for-4 SV, 14.0 IP, 7 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 13 SO) and Jacob Webb (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 G, 11.1 IP, 5 H, 0 HR, 2 BB, 13 SO) of the Texas Rangers; Eduard Bazardo (0-0, 1.54 ERA, 12 G, 11.2 IP, 9 H, 0 HR, 1 BB, 15 SO) of the Seattle Mariners; Garrett Whitlock (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 G, 9.1 IP, 6 H, O HR, 0 BB, 14 SO) of the Boston Red Sox; Dietrich Enns (2-1, 2.45 ERA, 8 G, 1-for-1 SV, 14.2 IP, 12 H, 2 HR, 7 BB, 14 SO) of the Baltimore Orioles; All-Star Carlos Estévez (0-0, 1.35 ERA, 7 G, 6-for-6 SV, 6.2 IP, 5 H, 0 HR, 2 BB, 4 SO) of the Kansas City Royals; rookie Grant Taylor (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 G, 2-for-2 SV, 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 HR, 2 BB, 15 SO) of the Chicago White Sox; Kody Funderburk (1-0, 1.46 ERA, 13 G, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 17 SO) of the Minnesota Twins; and A.J. Blubaugh (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 G, 11.0 IP, 3 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 10 SO) of the Houston Astros.
Others receiving votes for NL Reliever of the Month included Jhoan Duran (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 11 G, 8-for-10 SV, 11.0 IP, 8 H, 2 HR, 1 BB, 14 SO) of the Philadelphia Phillies; All-Star Edwin Díaz (0-1, 0,61 ERA, 12 G, 4-for-5 SV, 14.2 IP, 6 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 19 SO) of the New York Mets; Raisel Iglesias (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 11 G, 6-for-6 SV, 10.2 IP, 3 H, 0 HR, 6 BB, 12 SO) of the Atlanta Braves; rookie Connor Phillips (4-0, 1.35 ERA, 11 G, 13.1 IP, 2 H, 1 HR, 5 BB, 19 SO) and Emilio Pagán (0-0, 2.92 ERA, 13 G, 6-for-7 SV, 12.1 IP, 9 H, 2 HR, 2 BB, 15 SO) of the Cincinnati Reds; Jared Koenig (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 10 G, 2-for-2 SV, 11.0 IP, 5 H, O HR, 1 BB, 15 SO) of the Milwaukee Brewers; Robert Suarez (0-1, 2.70 ERA, 12 G, 5-for-5 SV, 13.1 IP, 6 H, 3 HR, 2 BB, 16 SO) of the San Diego Padres; and Jose A. Ferrer (0-1, 6.35 ERA, 11 G, 7-for-9 SV, 11.1 IP, 16 H, 2 HR, 4 BB, 15 SO) of the Washington Nationals.