Whatever vision problems Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was having at the plate this season didn’t translate to the field.
asserted
having → have → field
The Blue Jays first baseman headlines a group of five Jays finalists for American League gold glove awards.
asserted
baseman → headline → awards
The Chicago Cubs, likely to win the team fielding award, also got five.
asserted
Cubs → win → five
It’s strong representation for a Jays team that wasn’t nearly as good defensively as expected, part of the reason they finished last in the AL East for the second time in three seasons.
asserted
they → ’ → seasons
Along with Guerrero, they have a finalist on the mound in José Soriano and behind the plate in rookie Brandon Valenzuela.
asserted
they → have → Valenzuela
Shortstop Andrés Giménez and right-fielder Nathan Lukes also made the cut when the contenders were announced Wednesday.
asserted
contenders → make → cut
Gold glove selections used to be reputation based, voted on solely by big-league managers who might only see a player six or seven times in a season.
uncertain
who → use → season
The awards often went to great offensive players.
asserted
awards → go → players
Legendary New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter won five over his Hall of Fame career.
asserted
Jeter → win → career
According to defensive metrics he deserved none of them, but every once in a while he made a fancy jump-throw from deep in the hole that, combined with a few big hits, made voters think: That guy kills us, what a great shortstop.
uncertain
guy → accord → us
The system changed.
asserted
system → change → ?
Now up to six coaches per team get to vote, along with managers.
asserted
coaches → get → managers
Those ballots count for 75 per cent of the final tally, with the other 25 per cent based on the SABR Defensive Index.
asserted
cent → count → Index
Guerrero won a gold glove in 2022 and is the favourite for another, having led the AL with 10 defensive runs saved at first base.
asserted
Guerrero → win → base
He also tied for the league lead in outs above average with the Yankees’ Paul Goldschmidt, who is not a finalist.
asserted
who → tie → Goldschmidt
Giménez has three gold gloves on his mantel, as well as a platinum glove for best overall defensive player, but they were all won at second base.
asserted
they → have → base
This year, he finished second in the majors among shortstops with 19 outs above average, trailing only fellow finalist Bobby Witt Jr., who had 24 with the Kansas City Royals.
asserted
who → finish → Royals
The defensive runs saved metric was not as kind to Giménez, who was credited with two to Witt’s eight.
asserted
who → save → eight
The other finalist at short is Tampa Bay’s Taylor Walls, who lost out to Witt last year.
asserted
who → lose → Witt
Wells is all over the map with 21 defensive runs saved, the third-highest total in the majors, but minus-three outs above average.
asserted
Wells → save → average
This award looks to be Witt’s for the third straight year.
asserted
award → look → year
Lukes, Soriano and Valenzuela are looking to bring home some hardware for the first time.
asserted
Lukes → look → time
Lukes topped the AL in Statcast’s arm value metric with 10 outfield assists, fourth-most in the league, and only 35 per cent of runners tried to advance with him on the field.
asserted
cent → top → field
A gold glove would be tremendous recognition for a player who spent 10 years in the minors before becoming a big-league regular in 2025 at age 30, but the competition is tough.
asserted
competition → spend → age
Boston’s Wilyer Abreu led the majors with 28 defensive runs saved and topped the AL with 13 outfield assists.
asserted
Abreu → lead → assists
He’s won a gold glove in each of his two full seasons in the bigs and is very likely to add another.
asserted
He → win → another
Soriano, a former shortstop, arrived from the Los Angeles Angels at the Aug. 3 trade deadline and was so strong in the field that the Jays changed some of their defensive systems when he was on the mound.
asserted
he → arrive → mound
The right-hander tied for the AL lead among pitchers with 21 assists and was on the back end of three double-plays — which doesn’t sound like much, but led the majors.
asserted
which → tie → majors
As for Valenzuela, it’s pretty impressive that a raw rookie who started only 68 games at catcher could elbow his way into the top three.
uncertain
who → ’ → three
The 26-year-old Valenzuela led the AL in caught stealing above average and finished second in the majors in catcher framing, which is measured in runs.
asserted
which → lead → runs
He had eight, one behind Detroit’s Dillon Dingler despite catching more than 3,000 fewer pitches.
asserted
He → have → pitches
The gold glove winners will be announced Nov. 1.
asserted
winners → announce → ?
The Aporia
