The Toronto Blue Jays had five Gold Glove finalists this season, but none of them managed to win.
Okay, it may seem unusual, but this is not the first time this has happened, as the 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers also had five nominees, pitcher Zack Greinke, catcher A.J. Ellis, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, second baseman Mark Ellis, and third baseman Juan Uribe, and none of them won the award.
The Arizona Diamondbacks also had five finalists in 2019, but they won three awards, with pitcher Zack Greinke, shortstop Nick Ahmed, and left fielder David Peralta.
Five years later, they repeated the five finalists in 2024, but on that occasion, first baseman Christian Walker was the only winner.
This season, the Chicago Cubs also had five finalists, but two of them managed to win, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who led MLB with 26 Fielding Run Value, and third baseman Alex Bregman.
The other three finalists who could not win were shortstop Dansby Swanson, left fielder Ian Happ, who was looking for his fifth consecutive Gold Glove, and right fielder Seiya Suzuki.
There are many metrics that help us choose who could be the favorites at each position, and one of them is SDI, which represents 25% of the final result.
The remaining 75% corresponds to the votes of MLB managers and coaches. The SDI (SABR Defensive Index) is the defensive index created by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), and it combines different statistical metrics to evaluate players' defensive performance and determine how consistent they were compared to other players at the same position.
Let's analyze here each case the Blue Jays lost and whether there were real possibilities for the result to have been different.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jose Soriano (40). Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Tanner Bibee led American League pitchers with 5 Defensive Runs Saved, and recorded +9 net bases prevented, tied for second in MLB, which led him to finish first among the league's pitchers in SDI, with 2.8 points. Soriano finished with 1.9 points in the SABR index, which made the decision close, but Bibee's overall advantage made the difference.
Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Chandler Simpson (14). Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
There is not much to discuss here, as Dingler finished with +17 Fielding Run Value and 15 Defensive Runs Saved, the best marks in MLB at the position.
In addition, he led American League catchers in SDI, with a very high rating of 11.4 points. Either way, I think it was a victory to see Valenzuela rise to the highest level in his first full-time year with the Jays, finishing an elite defensive season with 13 FRV in 618 innings, 9 DRS, 8 Catcher Framing Runs, and 8 Caught Stealing Above Average.
What he will have to work on for the future, however, will be pitch blocking, where he finished with -3 Block Above Average and allowed 31 wild pitches.
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27). Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
This could be one of the most controversial debates, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finished ahead of Walker in SDI, with 6.2 points against 5.3, in addition to recording 4 Runs Prevented, tied with Paul Goldschmidt.
In the new Receiving OAA metric, which measures first basemen's ability to pick up throws with different degrees of difficulty, Goldy and Walker (both recorded +3) also surpassed Guerrero Jr. (+2).
Overall, I think the difference between Walker and Vladdy was in the small details that gave him the advantage. In OAA, Walker was slightly behind in Range (+2 vs. +4), but he created distance with his ability to complete double-play opportunities, which has characterized his great defense throughout the years.
Walker also had the best fielding percentage at .997 among American League first basemen (he committed just three errors), recorded +3 Outs Above Average (OAA), second among the league's first basemen, and +7 Fielding Run Value (FRV), tied for the lead.
Toronto Blue Jays short stop Andres Gimenez (0). Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Look, I love defensive metrics, and I almost always try to look at everything I can to analyze a player, but the decision on Walls was clear, as voters gave all the weight to the 21 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), which led the Major Leagues among all shortstops.
The closest to Walls was the Yankees' Jose Caballero with 13 DRS. Walls also finished first among American League shortstops in SDI, with 8.6 points, leaving Gimenez behind, who got 4.0.
Now, the question here is how much weight DRS carries over advanced statistics such as FRV and OAA, where Bobby Witt Jr. led the entire American League with 17 and 24, respectively, with Gimenez behind him, while Walls finished with a negative balance in both aspects, with -2 FRV and -3 OAA.
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes (38). Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Lukes was a great defender for the Jays, but Wilyer Abreu's impact is unavoidable, and he was once again the most complete defensive right fielder in all of baseball.
Abreu recorded 28 Defensive Runs Saved, the highest total in all of MLB at any position, got 13 assists, and had an average arm velocity of 95.3 mph, placing him in the 98th percentile of the Major Leagues, enough to win his third consecutive Gold Glove.
Lukes also had good numbers, finishing with 11 DRS, 7 FRV, and 2 OAA without committing any errors at the position.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/bluejays/onsi as Blue Jays Had 5 Gold Glove Finalists but the Defensive Numbers Tell the Real Story .
