Lorenzo Cain is Royals’ player of the year again; Wade Davis keeps pitcher of the year honors

Lorenzo Cain continued his baseball evolution in 2015, growing from a center-field stalwart on a pennant-winning club to a burgeoning superstar on a World Series champion team. He batted .307 with 34 doubles and 16 homers, made his first All-Star Game appearance and finished third in the American League Most Valuable Player voting.

On Wednesday, Cain added to the ledger: He won the Royals’ Les Milgram Player of the Year award for the second straight year. Cain’s honor, which was voted on by the Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, highlighted a group of team awards announced in the days before the Royals’ annual FanFest.

Closer Wade Davis won the Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year award for the second straight year, while Mike Moustakas, Ben Zobrist and Alcides Escobar shared the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award after sharing the votes. It was the first time since 1991 that multiple players shared the award, which serves to honor another player’s contributions.

Each player had a clear and convincing case for the accolades. Davis, 30, anchored a bullpen that helped carry Kansas City to its first World Series championship in 30 years. He finished with a 0.94 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 67  1/3 innings, transitioning from setup man to closer as Greg Holland battled elbow issues. Davis was dominant in the postseason, striking out 18 across eight scoreless appearances while recording four saves. The image of Davis striking out the Mets’ Wilmer Flores for the final out of Game 5 of the World Series is now one of the enduring scenes in franchise history.

Escobar, 29, claimed a piece of the Special Achievement award — his second — after getting MVP honors in the American League Championship Series and serving as a talisman during the postseason run. After batting just .257 during the regular season, Escobar hit .329 with four doubles, three triples and added an inside-the-park homer to lead off Game 1 of the World Series at Kauffman Stadium.

Moustakas, 27, earned his first postseason team award after a career year in 2015. A first-time All-Star, Moustakas batted .284 during the regular season while setting career highs in nearly every major offensive category, including 22 home runs, 82 RBIs and 73 runs scored.

Zobrist, meanwhile, was a postseason juggernaut near the top of the lineup, batting .303 with a team-record eight doubles, two homers and 15 runs scored. Acquired from the Oakland A’s before the trade deadline, his presence served to ignite a lineup that was without left fielder Alex Gordon for most of July and August.

Zobrist, 34, agreed to a four-year, $56 million deal with the Chicago Cubs in early December, becoming one of the few key cogs to depart this offseason. The opening left at second base is expected to be reinhabited by Omar Infante, who is entering the third year of a four-year contract that will guarantee him $15.75 million over the next two seasons. The Royals also own a $10 million club option in 2018 that features a $2 million buyout.

The rest of the award winners will be back. Cain will return after recently signing a two-year, $17.5 million contract that will take him to free agency after the 2017 season. He will earn $6.5 million in 2016 and $11 million in 2017. Davis, meanwhile, is also under club control through 2017. He will make $8 million in 2016, while the Royals own a $10 million club option next season. Moustakas, who will also become a free agent after the 2017 season, has filed for arbitration and remains unsigned. Moustakas asked for $7 million in the process, while the Royals countered with $4 million. The Royals have never gone to arbitration with a player under general manager Dayton Moore.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Lorenzo Cain is Royals’ player of the year again; Wade Davis keeps pitcher of the year honors."