Five Blue Jays in the mix for 2023 Gold Glove Awards

Photo credit:© Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

1 month ago

Rawlings Baseball announced the finalists (well, the top three vote-getters) for this year’s Gold Glove Awards and five Blue Jays are in the mix — Matt Chapman, Kevin Kiermaier, Alejandro Kirk, Daulton Varsho, and Jose Berrios.

Gold Gloves are handed out annually to the player in each league deemed to be the best at a given position. The winners are determined by a combination of votes from managers and coaches (who can’t vote for their own players) and statistics from the SABR Defensive Index.

It’s no surprise to see the Blue Jays with this many players in the conversation for a Gold Glove given the team’s commitment to defence and run prevention this season. The Blue Jays ranked at the top of Major League Baseball in terms of Defensive Runs Saved, according to both FanGraphs and Fielding Bible, which played a big role in the team’s impressive 3.78 ERA on the season.

The Blue Jays also had five players nominated for Gold Gloves in 2022 but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the only one who wound up winning. Chapman and Berrios were both finalists last season, along with mid-season additions Whit Merrifield and Jackie Bradley Jr.

Chapman and Kiermaier are both looking for the fourth Gold Glove of their respective careers while Kirk, Varsho, and Berrios are all looking for their first.

Chapman won in 2018, 2019, and 2021 while with the Oakland A’s and Kiermaier won in 2015, 2016, and 2019 while playing for the Tampa Bay Rays. Berrios has been a finalist before, both with the Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins, but has never won.

Kirk had a difficult season offensively after last year’s Silver Slugger performance but compensated with rock-solid blocking and framing behind the plate. Varsho also struggled with the bat in his first season in Toronto but was incredibly valuable for the team in the outfield. Gabriel Moreno, who was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Varsho last winter, was also named a finalist for the Gold Glove for catchers in the National League.