The MLB Cy Young Awards were handed out Wednesday night and one of the finalists was Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, along with the Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Skenes took home the honor for the 2025 season, leaving Sánchez empty-handed after a monumental season.
The 28-year-old found himself in Cy Young form throughout the season after starting to come into form over the last few years. Phillies fans were hoping he could take home the hardware, but 2025 was just another year that a Phillies pitcher came just short of reaching that ultimate goal.
Cristopher Sánchez's Cy Young-worthy season for Phillies ends in disappointment after Paul Skenes wins unanimously
The votes were tallied and spit out on a scorecard by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) for final voting of the award. Skenes amassed all 30 first-place votes, while Sánchez secured all 30 second-place votes.
Skenes finished the year with a 10-10 record but with a 1.97 ERA and 216 strikeouts across 187 2/3 innings. Sánchez ended his season with a 13-5 record, a 2.50 ERA and 212 strikeouts across 202 innings. It's a hard pill to swallow, but Skenes was just better.
Paul Skenes wins the 2025 NL Cy Young Award UNANIMOUSLY!
— MLB (@MLB) November 13, 2025
He is the first NL pitcher to do so since Sandy Alcantara in 2022. pic.twitter.com/VF9QgsfCmA
It's the same feeling that Phillies fans had last year when Zack Wheeler fell to Atlanta Braves starter Chris Sale.
Like Sánchez, Wheeler finished in second place in 2024 and had possibly the best year of his career. He ended the season with a 16-7 record and 224 strikeouts in 200 innings. Sale shattered all hope built up for Wheeler as he won the NL pitching triple crown at 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings.
Sale took home 26 of 30 first-place votes and left Wheeler with his second second-place finish in his career. Wheeler also finished ninth in voting this year even after missing a month and a half of action at the end of the season.
Sánchez may not have won the NL Cy Young Award, but the nomination and being one step away from winning is an accomplishment in and of itself. Few experts would have picked him to be the exciting Cy Young pick at the beginning of the season, but he stepped up and shined as the club's ace when Wheeler went down with an injury.
Now Sánchez is another ace for the Phillies, and he'll be competing for the Cy Young beyond just 2025.