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Phillies Shut Out of Gold Glove Finalists as Mattingly Pushes for Better Defense
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- Phillies Shut Out of Gold Glove Finalists as Mattingly Pushes for Better Defense
(Dale Zanine-Imagn Images)
The Rawlings Gold Glove Awards will be announced Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, and no member of the Philadelphia Phillies is among the finalists.
Philadelphia has not had a Gold Glove winner since Zack Wheeler in 2023. J.T. Realmuto, in 2022, was the last Phillies position player to win one.
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The 2026 Numbers
The Phillies tied for 21st in MLB with minus-17 Outs Above Average, according to Statcast. They also tied the Athletics for the fewest Defensive Runs Saved in the majors.
A few days into Don Mattingly's tenure as interim manager, they ranked last in MLB with minus-28 Defensive Runs Saved. Philadelphia was 9-19 when Mattingly replaced Rob Thomson on April 28, then had the fourth-best record in baseball the rest of the way before losing to the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card Series.
Trea Turner tied Miami's Otto Lopez for the MLB lead with 21 errors. His minus-17 Defensive Runs Saved ranked last among shortstops.
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After the season, Turner met with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski for about two hours and said he wanted to stay at shortstop. The Phillies will give him that chance.
"If he plays it like he did in '26, he can't," Dombrowski said at the club's Oct. 15 end-of-season press conference.
If shortstop does not work, Turner told Dombrowski, he will play wherever the organization wants him. He also hit .242/.297/.378, and new hitting coach Pete Fatse has already made him one of his first projects .
Mattingly's Plans for 2027
When Mattingly took over in April, the team had played 28 games under Thomson, so he largely kept the structure. His interim tag was removed Oct. 14, when he signed a two-year deal through 2028. This winter, he'll set priorities: defense, baserunning, and fundamentals.
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"Defense is just a premium," Mattingly said.
Bobby Dickerson, who coached the infielders, is gone, and so is hitting coach Kevin Long. Taking Dickerson's place is Carlos Mendoza, the former New York Mets manager, who has until the CBA expires Dec. 1 to introduce himself to Turner and the rest of the infield.
Bryce Harper is expected to go back to first base full time, and Kyle Schwarber will start taking work there in spring training. Dombrowski estimated Schwarber could start about 30 games at first.
Alec Bohm, the club's third baseman, drove in 88 runs and is set to become a free agent after the World Series. The Phillies also want to cut back on how often Realmuto catches.
Louisville Slugger will announce Silver Slugger finalists Monday. The winners will be revealed Nov. 17.
