ST. PETERSBURG - Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta won the American League Pitcher of the Month award for September after a dramatic turnaround following his August trade from the New York Mets, MLB announced.

Peralta had posted a 4.99 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP across 22 starts with the Mets before the Rays acquired him on Aug. 2. In five September starts with Tampa Bay, he allowed just three earned runs and one homer across 28 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .162 batting average and posting a 0.89 WHIP.

In the National League, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones claimed NL Pitcher of the Month honors, becoming just the second Pirates pitcher to win the award since the start of 2018 - the other being Paul Skenes. Jones did not allow a run in four of his five September starts and surrendered more than one hit in only two of them. He walked just four batters in 29 innings, finishing with a 0.59 WHIP and a league-leading 40 strikeouts among NL pitchers.

Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen swept both the AL Player of the Month and AL Rookie of the Month awards for September, his second consecutive Player of the Month honor. The 23-year-old left-handed hitter batted .338 with eight home runs, 19 extra-base hits and a 1.194 OPS across 21 September games. His eight home runs in the month were the most by a Royals rookie since Bob Hamelin hit nine in July 1994, and Jensen became the first hitter to win both Player and Rookie of the Month in the same month since Oakland’s Nick Kurtz accomplished the feat in July 2025.

Cleveland Guardians reliever Cade Smith earned AL Reliever of the Month after throwing 13 scoreless innings in September, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out 21 batters and recording six saves. Smith’s 41st save of the season - which tied him for the MLB lead - clinched a playoff berth for Cleveland, two days before the Guardians won the AL Central title.

The Rays open postseason play with Peralta now firmly established as a key piece of their rotation after his September resurgence.