On Wednesday night, lost in the festivities of the Cy Young and All-MLB team award announcements, a brand new award was voted on for the first time in MLB history.

The inaugural Reliever of the Year, recognizing the Cy Young equivalent of relief pitchers, was announced for the first time, and the Arizona Diamondbacks were not without representation.

Diamondbacks' Brandyn Garcia places in NL Reliever of the Year voting

Diamondbacks left-hander Brandyn Garcia, among 13 vote-getting relief pitchers, placed 11th. He received only one vote, a fourth-place vote from John Shea of the San Francisco Standard.

But to be named among the 13 best relievers in the National League is both an honor and an encouraging sign for Garcia's future in this league.

It was not long ago that Garcia simply could not locate his arsenal. In fact, the 26-year-old lefty did not make the team out of Spring Training, despite being one of the only healthy left-handed options available. Arizona went into 2026, at first, without a southpaw in their bullpen at all.

But when Garcia was called back up from Reno on May 1, he looked like an entirely different pitcher. He was so effective, he quickly became one of the top leverage options available to Torey Lovullo, in a year where the Diamondbacks' bullpen surged back into a wholesale team strength.

Garcia was acquired at the 2025 Trade Deadline in the Josh Naylor deal with the Mariners. He produced a 5.84 ERA in limited playing time that season.

2026 was a different story. Garcia appeared in 57 games, pitching 51.1 innings as the sole leverage lefty. His command problem? Evaporated.

Garcia issued just 11 walks — a 5.7% BB rate — against 60 strikeouts. He allowed only 27 base hits and 11 earned runs, which added up to a sparkling 1.93 ERA and 0.74 WHIP. Four of his earned runs came in one poor outing on June 9 against the Miami Marlins.

The left-hander also converted all five of his save opportunities after Arizona parted with incumbent closer Paul Sewald and switched to a committee approach. Garcia was given the BBWAA Arizona chapter team Rookie of the Year award for his excellent season.

Obviously, Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres earned a unanimous first-place honor in this award.

But for Arizona to see a young arm — pumping 97 MPH sinkers and hard sweeping sliders — hone his stuff enough to be recognized on a national level is a relatively unique feeling for D-backs fans.

The future of the Diamondbacks' bullpen has some hope.