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Looking at which Blue Jays could win awards at season’s end
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Aug 13, 2025, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 13, 2025, 06:06 EDT
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The 2025 season has just a month and a half remaining.
Once again, quite a handful of Toronto Blue Jays players will be, at worst, nominated for awards at the end of the season. Defensively, they have five players who could be realistic award winners, while a handful of positions could see a Silver Slugger Award.
In this article, let’s look at the case for the Blue Jays at the award ceremony!

Myles Straw: Centre Field Gold Glove

The trade for Myles Straw (and international money) was met with dissatisfaction when Rōki Sasaki signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, as it was expected. Straw won’t be winning any awards with the bat, but he’s been a sneakily good addition given the defensive value he’s provided this season.
In just 462.1 innings in centre field, Straw has 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 6 Outs Above Average. His DRS ranks as the second-best in the American League, while his OAA ranks as the sixth-best in the AL. In terms of DRS, only Ceddanne Rafaela has a higher total, as he has a 16 DRS and OAA. Pretty safe to say he’ll win it.
Will Straw even be nominated for the award? That’s anyone’s best guess. His 462.1 innings in centre field are the 11th-most in the AL for centre fielders, with Julio Rodríguez, Jake Meyers, and Kyle Isbel potentially being better candidates to finish as nominees.
Sadly, Varsho won’t play nearly enough innings to defend his Gold Glove, despite having 5 DRS and OAA in just 248 innings.

Andrés Giménez: Second base Gold Glove

Despite missing a large chunk of the 2025 season, Andrés Giménez will surely at least earn a Gold Glove nomination at second base, both on performance and name value.
So far in just 505.1 innings, Giménez has 5 DRS and 7 OAA, good enough to be tied for second in the American League in both categories. Only one other player, former Blue Jay Marcus Semien, has a bigger claim of winning the award, as he has 5 DRS and 7 OAA, but in 1046.1 innings.
Name value-wise, Giménez is a three-time Gold Glove winner, winning the American League second baseman Gold Glove for the past three seasons. He even won a Platinum Glove in 2023.

Ty France: First base Gold Glove

Of any position, first base defence is probably the least valuable, but that doesn’t mean one of the newest Blue Jays, Ty France, doesn’t deserve his flowers for the American League first base Gold Glove.
In 841.1 innings at the position, France has 6 DRS and 7 OAA, splitting his time between the Minnesota Twins and Blue Jays. The two defensive metrics when used to determine a good defensive first baseman aren’t great, but he ranks second in DRS for the position in the AL, as well as tied for first in OAA.
Carlos Santana likely has the award in the bag, as he has 10 DRS and 7 OAA in 767 innings, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could end up being another candidate thanks to 5 DRS and -2 OAA in 881.2 innings at the position. Guerrero Jr. is third in DRS and has the fourth-most innings at the position (France has the fifth-most).
His hot hand since joining the Blue Jays is also encouraging. Viva la France.

Ernie Clement: Utility Gold Glove

After the 2022 season, Rawlings Baseball introduced the utility Gold Glove. Somehow, Ernie Clement wasn’t named the winner. At third base last season, Clement finished with 9 DRS and 3 OAA in 661 innings, finishing as a nominee for the AL’s third base Gold Glove. At shortstop, he had 6 DRS and 4 OAA in 314 innings, giving him 15 DRS and 7 OAA between the two positions.
The winner, Dylan Moore, played at least one inning at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, left field, and centre field last season. However, he finished with -4 DRS and 0 OAA between the six positions and didn’t stand out at any particular position. This is to say, he ranged from average to below-average depending on the position.
Clement is once again having a strong season defensively. At second base in 320.1 innings, he has 5 DRS and 3 OAA. He’s primarily played third base this season, earning 6 DRS and 3 OAA in 447.2 innings, along with -1 DRS and 0 OAA at shortstop to give him 10 DRS and 6 OAA between the three positions.

Alejandro Kirk: Catcher Gold Glove/Silver Slugger

In 2022, Alejandro Kirk won the American League Silver Slugger as he slashed .285/.372/.415 with 14 home runs in 541 plate appearances for a 129 wRC+. This season, he’s slashing .296/.356/.398 with seven home runs in 371 plate appearances for a 112 wRC+. 
Of players batting from the catcher position with 300 plate appearances, Kirk’s 114 wRC+ ranks third best. That said, Cal Raleigh will easily win this award. I just wanted to show that Kirk has had a good season with the bat.
Last season, Raleigh won the catching Gold Glove for the American League, which, in all honesty, was deserved. What is insane is that Kirk wasn’t even nominated for the Gold Glove that season, despite putting up 13 DRS and 14 Fielding Run Value in 766 innings pitched. For context, Raleigh had 17 DRS and 14 FRV in 1122 innings, winning the Platinum Glove.
With how many innings Raleigh caught, again, it’s totally acceptable that he won the award. Kirk should’ve been nominated, though, as he had 13 DRS and 14 FRV, ranking tied for third and tied for first in each respective category in the American League.
From 2022 until 2024, Kirk caught 2195 innings, posting 39 DRS and 34 OAA, the best in the AL and second-best in the AL. Somehow, he’s only been nominated for one Gold Glove back in 2023, despite having more DRS (17) and FRV (8) than the winner, Jose Trevino, who had 7 DRS and 6 FRV in fewer innings caught.
As much as he’s been robbed of the award the past three seasons, that isn’t this season. Is he deserving of it so far in 2025? You betcha. In 692 innings behind the dish, Kirk has 9 DRS and 15 FRV. His DRS is second only to Carlos Narváz’s 12, while no one is close to his 15 FRV, with Dillon Dingler being the next closest at 10.
He’s the best blocker behind the dish, is the best framer in the American League, and is around the top 10 for throwing. Give Kirk his damn Gold Glove already.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Silver Slugger

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may not win his third Silver Slugger at the end of the 2025 season. The Blue Jays’ first baseman is having a good season, slashing .300/.399/.490 with 19 home runs in 447 plate appearances for a 147 wRC+, but it’s not quite the calibre of season he had in 2024 or 2021, the two seasons he won the Silver Slugger Award for first base.
Unless he hits a wall, it seems that Athletics’ first baseman Nick Kurtz will win the award, as he is slashing .300/.381/.618 with 20 home runs this season in just 337 plate appearances. If Kurtz wasn’t having the type of season he is, Guerrero Jr. would have a legitimate shot of winning the Silver Slugger.
Still, you’ll take this sort of production from Guerrero Jr.

Bo Bichette: Silver Slugger/Batting title

Bo Bichette has put up a sneakily good season so far, as he’s slashing .297/337/.468 with 16 home runs in 531 plate appearances, leading the major leagues in hits with 148. For qualified American League shortstops, Bichette’s 123 wRC+ ranks fourth, behind Jeremy Peña, Corey Seager, and Gunnar Henderson. There is a slight possibility that he earns his first career Silver Slugger.
Another award Bichette is chasing is the AL’s batting title. Although he’s led the AL in hits in two prior seasons, he’s never won the batting title. Of qualified batters, Bichette’s .297 batting average ranks sixth-best in the AL, behind Aaron Judge, Jonathan Aranda, Peña, Jacob Wilson, and Mikael Garcia.
Bichette won’t be winning any Gold Gloves any time soon, as he has -9 DRS and -7 OAA at shortstop, but it’s nice to see him return to his usual excellence.

George Springer: Silver Slugger

George Springer could have a realistic claim to the Silver Slugger at two positions: the outfield and designated hitter. As a designated hitter, Springer is slashing .307/.398/.550 with 14 home runs in 222 plate appearances for a 164 wRC+. The next closest wRC+ from a player with more than 200 plate appearances as a designated hitter in the AL is Mike Trout, who has a 148 wRC+ in 300 plate appearances.
When he’s in the outfield, Springer is slashing .275/.368/.463 with four home runs in 179 plate appearances, still good enough for a 131 wRC+. There are only seven players with a higher wRC+ than Springer in 170 or more plate appearances, with two of them being traded to National League teams before the trade deadline.
He should absolutely win the American League DH Silver Slugger.

Addison Barger: Silver Slugger

Like Springer, Addison Barger’s case for a Silver Slugger award is a weird one. This season, he’s played 66 games at third base and 42 games in right field. Overall, the 25-year-old is slashing .264/.314/.504 with 18 home runs in 364 plate appearances for a 123 wRC+.
As an outfielder, he’s slashing .277/.299/.553 with nine home runs in 147 plate appearances for a 132 wRC+, the ninth-best wRC+ for AL outfielders with 140 plate appearances when playing the outfield. At third, Barger is slashing .261/.333/.489 with nine home runs in 204 plate appearances for a 124 wRC+, the fifth-best wRC+ for third basemen with 200 or more plate appearances when playing the hot corner.
Of course, that’s some heavy sample size manipulation. His bat has been terrific and is a big reason why the Blue Jays are in the position they’re in, but due to splitting his time between right field and third base, it seems unlikely he’ll win a Silver Slugger Award.

Team Gold Glove

Introduced in 2020, the Blue Jays have won the last two Team Gold Glove Awards for the American League. They won’t be repeating in 2025, as their 25 DRS ranks tied for fifth in the AL, and their 1 OAA is sixth.
The Texas Rangers will more than likely win the award, as their players have combined for 76 DRS and 22 OAA. For context, the team with the highest DRS in the AL has won the Team Gold Glove for three consecutive seasons.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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