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Blue Jays: How Ty France stacks up against other nominees for Gold Glove at first base
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Oct 30, 2025, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 30, 2025, 05:20 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays have a strong chance at winning the Gold Glove at first base.
Not only was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. nominated for the award, but so too was Ty France, whom the Blue Jays acquired just minutes before the 2025 trade deadline, alongside Louis Varland. The other finalist for the award is the Cleveland Guardians’ Carlos Santana. Funnily enough, these players were also the three finalists for the 2022 Gold Glove at first base in the American League, which Guerrero Jr. won.
That said, let’s take a look at how Ty France stacks up to Guerrero Jr. and Santana.

France’s stats

Most of France’s time at first base was spent with the Minnesota Twins before the trade. Of his 976.2 innings at the position, 812.1 of them came with the Twins, where he had 6 Defensive Runs Saved, 6 Outs Above Average, and 5 Fielding Run Value.
Although he only received 164.1 innings at first base with the Blue Jays in a backup role, France was able to accumulate 3 DRS, 3 OAA, and 2 FRV, giving him 9 DRS, 10 OAA, and 7 FRV. Of any qualified first basemen, his DRS ranked second in Major League Baseball (and first in the American League), his OAA ranked first in MLB, and his FRV ranked second in MLB (again, first in the AL).
It’s doubly impressive given his past two seasons defensively at first base. In 2023, a year after he was nominated for the Gold Glove award, France finished the year with -7 DRS, -1 OAA, and -1 FRV in 1360 innings. He was even worse in 2024, finishing with -7 DRS, -12 OAA, and -8 FRV.
What a turnaround it was for France, but how does he stack up against Guerrero Jr. and Santana?

Guerrero Jr. and Santana’s numbers

Guerrero Jr. had a strong season at first base, playing 1126.2 innings, finishing the year with 8 DRS, -2 OAA, and -1 FRV. While he excelled in DRS, the OAA and FRV lagged behind, but he made spectacular plays after spectacular plays when watching him. That tends to play well for voters.
Santana is no slouch either. In 848.1 innings at first base, he had 12 DRS, 8 OAA, and 6 FRV, with his DRS ranking second in MLB for any first baseman with more than 500 innings. That said, he isn’t qualified for the position, which may be a knock on him.
Thanks to France’s numbers being strong across the board and being qualified for first base, there’s a strong possibility that he goes home with his first career Gold Glove.
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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