Major League Baseball announced the winner of the American and National League Team Gold Glove award winners on November 8 and it’s safe to say that the Toronto Blue Jays weren’t so lucky in yet another award category. It was awarded to the Texas Rangers who were very good defensively, but the Blue Jays arguably could’ve taken the award handily.
The Toronto Blue Jays only won one Gold Glove award this season despite having six finalists (technically five, Clement was a finalist at 3B and UTIL), and the only winner was Ty France at first base who only played the position for the Blue Jays in 23 games this season.
Breaking Down the Numbers of the Blue Jays Gold Glove snub
Toronto led all teams in Defensive Runs Above Average (DEF) according to FanGraphs (38.7) while the Rangers ranked eighth (18.5). In terms of team Fielding Run Value (FRV), the Blue Jays yet again lead the field with a +44 FRV while the Rangers’ +22 FRV sits in fifth (3rd in AL).
In terms of defensive runs saved (DRS), Texas was the best in all of MLB with a mark of 89 while Toronto’s 59 DRS sits them in fourth place (2nd in AL). DRS takes into account a team’s ability to prevent run scoring above/below the average player at each given position. These numbers are then totalled and the given DRS total is the sum of a team’s performance in comparison to the league average.
Here is a chart to distinguish each team’s DRS value at every given position, along with their American League rank in parentheses:
| Position | TOR | TEX |
|---|---|---|
| C | 19 (1st) | -3 (8th) |
| 1B | 11 (1st) | 7 (t-2nd) |
| 2B | 22 (1st) | 6 (2nd) |
| 3B | 4 (2nd) | -7 (11th) |
| SS | -13 (14th) | 15 (2nd) |
| LF | 13 (2nd) | 12 (3rd) |
| CF | 24 (1st) | 8 (t-3rd) |
| RF | -10 (13th) | 16 (2nd) |
| P | -2 (t-7th) | 7 (3rd) |
The Blue Jays led the American League at four different positions in DRS (C, 1B, 2B, CF) and finished second place at two other positions (3B, LF). The Rangers did not lead the league in any position and finished behind the Blue Jays at C, 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, and CF.
It’s understandable that the Rangers finished among the top-three teams in the AL at seven positions, but it’s really Toronto’s poor defense at SS and RF that truly makes the case for the Rangers.
The Blue Jays won the AL Team Gold Glove in both 2023 and 2024 when Bichette posted +3 and -4 DRS respectively, but his lack of prowess at the position this year (-12 DRS) is a smear on Toronto’s otherwise very strong defensive team.
Toronto got 446.1 innings of +7 DRS defense from Nathan Lukes this year, but that gets overshadowed by a collective 997.2 innings of George Springer (injured, primary DH), Addison Barger (converted 3B), Joey Loperfido (-3 DRS in 55 innings), Anthony Santander (injured), Alan Roden (traded), and Myles Straw (15 DRS in CF).
What the voting for this award is saying, assuming DRS is being used at the forefront of the argument for the Rangers (because Toronto leads in virtually every other category) is that Bo Bichette, Addison Barger, and George Springer, who played a cumulative 90 games at DH this seaon, cost the team a Gold Glove.
Wyatt Langford led the Rangers in DRS at LF (12) and CF (4), so he does a lot of heavy lifting for the Rangers in this area. Marcus Semien led Texas in DEF with a mark of 6.4, and this was surpassed by three Blue Jays: Alejandro Kirk (25.6), Tyler Heineman (9.0), and Andrés Giménez (8.3).
None of this is to discredit the strengths of the Rangers and the incredible display of defense that they put on this season, because they were absolutely one of the league’s top teams defensively. However, the Blue Jays appear to have deserved the award according to virtually every metric.
Conclusion
The Blue Jays were one average defensive season from Bo Bichette and a healthy George Springer away from their third-consecutive AL Team Gold Glove award and it’s a shame that the performances of the rest of the team are not being honoured with any sort of accolades at all. France absolutely deserved the award at first base and it’s a great thing that he was acknowledged with it.
