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Assessing José Soriano’s chances of becoming the fourth Blue Jays’ pitcher to win the Gold Glove
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Cynthia Ryley Delaney
Oct 29, 2026, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 28, 2026, 22:44 EDT
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A Toronto Blue Jays’ pitcher winning the American League Gold Glove has only happened three times in franchise history.
There’s a chance that come November 1st, José Soriano will be the fourth. If he does win, he’ll join José Berríos in 2023, Marcus Stroman in 2017, and R.A. Dickey in 2013. The Blue Jays’ starter is up against Cleveland Guardians’ Tanner Bibee and Texas Rangers’ Jacob deGrom for the award.
We’ve already looked at Brandon Valenzuela, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Andrés Giménez, and Nathan Lukes’ chances at winning the Gold Glove, but what about Soriano?
Let’s see how he stacks up against the competition! 

Soriano’s 2026 defensive stats on the mound

There aren’t many stats to quantify how good a pitcher is defensively. The only advanced metric of note is Defensive Runs Saved, with Soriano totalling 3 this past season. Two thirds of that total came with the Los Angeles Angels, while accruing 1 DRS in 54.1 innings with the Blue Jays.
Soriano’s traditional stats are pretty good as well. Over 177.1 innings, Soriano finished with 18 putouts, 21 assists, and was involved in three double plays. He also played clean baseball throughout the season, committing no errors.
What really stands out about Soriano is the eye test. Originally a shortstop before becoming a pitcher, Soriano knows how to field the position and is athletic enough to make plays that most pitchers are unable to. In 10 starts after the trade, Soriano finished off three double plays, including this one in August.
The advanced metrics and traditional defensive stats are good, and he passes the eye test. But what about the other candidates?

How Soriano stacks up against the other nominees

In 188 innings with the Guardians, Tanner Bibee finished with 5 DRS, tied for the most among any qualified pitcher in baseball. He also finished with 11 putouts and 18 assists, but committed three errors for a .906 fielding percentage.
Of the three nominees, deGrom finished with the lowest DRS, as it sat at 2 when it was all said and done. Not only was that fewer than both Bibee and Soriano, but AL pitchers Foster Griffin, Gavin Williams, and Seth Lugo all finished with a higher DRS than deGrom. Like Soriano, deGrom didn’t commit an error, ending the season with nine putouts and nine assists, while starting one double play.

So who wins?

Of the five Gold Gloves that Blue Jays players are up for, this is the only one that doesn’t have a decisive winner.
If we’re using historical trends, only one qualified pitcher in the American League who finished with the highest DRS didn’t win the Gold Glove award since 2021. Funnily enough, it was actually Bibee who was robbed, as his 6 DRS topped Seth Lugo’s 5 DRS, but Lugo took the award home.
Every other AL Gold Glove winner at the position finished with the most DRS since 2021. Max Fried won with an AL-leading 10 DRS last season, Berríos finished with an AL-leading 5 DRS in 2023, Shane Bieber did it with 3 in 2022, and Dallas Keuchel did it with 12 in 2021.
The 2021 season marked a change in voting, with voters taking advanced metrics into consideration. From 2016 until 2020, the AL pitcher with the highest DRS didn’t win the award.
This makes me believe that Bibee will probably end up winning it, but his three errors are noteworthy. In the season he lost to Lugo, Bibee had a .943 fielding percentage, while Lugo didn’t commit an error.
Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.
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