A full list of Cubs players to receive MVP votes since 2000

Although attention is typically focused in on players that finish in the top 10 in votes, the Cubs have had 41 separate seasons merit MVP consideration since the turn of the century.

There is just over a month left to go in the 2026 MLB regular season, with the playoff picture taking shape as the league’s top players suit up to make their final arguments for MVP and Cy Young Award consideration.

While it’s the performance in October that truly matters when it comes to chasing down a championship ring, the slew of end-of-season accolades across the league are solely based on the regular season – meaning time is running out for players who are looking for a photogenic end-of-season stat line.

In addition to being in the thick of the playoff race with some insurance on the top Wild Card spot in the National League, Cubs fans have also been directing their attention towards the NL MVP race, as Pete Crow-Armstrong appears to be the favorite to win the award with just a little over a month left in the season.

This year marks an incredible improvement for PCA after what was already an incredibly strong breakout campaign in 2025. After finishing ninth in NL MVP voting in 2025 with a Gold Glove and All-Star appearance, PCA has ran it back with another 30-30 season while vastly improving his slugging percentage, on-base percentage and walk rate.

PCA has also emerged as the frontrunner thanks to Shohei Ohtani missing nearly two months of action on the mound, though with the four-time MVP slated to return to the bump before the end of the regular season, the MVP race could reach a dead heat before the season ends.

Crow-Armstrong is looking to become the first Cubs player to win the NL MVP award since Kris Bryant did in 2016 en route to a World Series title, with Bryant standing alone as the only Cub to win the award since the turn of the century.

Despite that, plenty of Cubs have gotten downballot consideration over the years, with a Cub finishing as the runner-up on two separate occasions (Sammy Sosa in 2001, Javier Báez in 2018). Overall, there have been 41 individual seasons that have warranted at least some downballot MVP votes in the past 26 years.

Here’s a look at the campaigns that have gotten some level of MVP consideration for the Cubs this century, alongside any other awards they received that season:

1. 2000 Sammy Sosa: 9th place (All-Star, Silver Slugger)
2. 2001 Sammy Sosa: 2nd place (All-Star, Silver Slugger)
3. 2002 Sammy Sosa: 9th place (All-Star, Silver Slugger)
4. 2003 Sammy Sosa: 8th place
5. 2003 Mark Prior: 9th place (All-Star, 3rd place in Cy Young Award voting)
6. 2003 Mark Grudzielanek: 27th place
7. 2004 Aramis Ramirez: 10th place
8. 2004 Moises Alou: 14th place (All-Star)
9. 2004 Carlos Zambrano: 28th place (All-Star, 5th place in Cy Young Award voting)
10. 2005 Derrek Lee: 3rd place (All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger)
11. 2006 Aramis Ramirez: 17th place
12. 2007 Alfonso Soriano: 12th place (All-Star)
13. 2007 Aramis Ramirez: 13th place
14. 2007 Carlos Marmol: 26th place
15. 2008 Aramis Ramirez: 10th place (All-Star)
16. 2008 Geovany Soto: 13th place (All-Star, NL Rookie of the Year)
17. 2008 Derrek Lee: 21st place
18. 2009 Derrek Lee: 9th place
19. 2011 Starlin Castro: 23rd place (All-Star)
20. 2012 Alfonso Soriano: 20th place
21. 2014 Anthony Rizzo: 10th place (All-Star)
22. 2015 Anthony Rizzo: 4th place (All-Star)
23. 2015 Jake Arrieta: 6th place (NL Cy Young Award)
24. 2015 Kris Bryant: 11th place (All-Star, NL Rookie of the Year)
25. 2016 Kris Bryant: NL MVP (All-Star)
26. 2016 Anthony Rizzo: 4th place (All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger)
27. 2016 Addison Russell: 19th place (All-Star)
28. 2016 Kyle Hendricks: 23rd place (3rd place in Cy Young Award voting)
29. 2017 Kris Bryant: 7th place
30. 2017 Anthony Rizzo: 13th place
31. 2018 Javier Báez: 2nd place (All-Star, Silver Slugger)
32. 2018 Anthony Rizzo: 17th place (Gold Glove)
33. 2020 Yu Darvish: 14th place (2nd place in Cy Young Award voting)
34. 2020 Ian Happ: 18th place
35. 2020 Ryan Tepera: 18th place*
36. 2023 Cody Bellinger: 10th place (Silver Slugger)
37. 2023 Dansby Swanson: 19th place (All-Star, Gold Glove)
38. 2025 Pete Crow-Armstrong: 9th place (All-Star, Gold Glove)
39. 2025 Michael Busch: 16th place
40. 2025 Nico Hoerner: 19th place (Gold Glove)
41. 2025 Seiya Suzuki: 20th place