Blue Jays shut out of Gold Glove awards despite five finalists

Explainer

The Toronto Blue Jays had five players nominated for Gold Glove awards but none were among the 20 winners announced for the 2026 MLB season on Sunday night. The Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks led all teams with three winners each. The Blue Jays' five finalists tied with the Chicago Cubs for the most of any club. Toronto also finished second in MLB with a plus-45 fielding run value, a Statcast defensive metric.

The Red Sox winners were Caleb Durbin at third base, Wilyer Abreu in right field and Ceddanne Rafaela in centre field. The Diamondbacks winners were Geraldo Perdomo at shortstop, Gabriel Moreno at catcher and Corbin Carroll in right field. The Red Sox ranked sixth among MLB teams with a plus-24 fielding run value, and the Diamondbacks were fifth at plus-33. New York Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger was the only Yankee to win a Gold Glove, earning his second career award. Bellinger's 21 Defensive Runs Saved tied him with Tampa Bay's Taylor Walls and Boston's Rafaela for the third most in the majors. "Bellinger more than did his part to anchor the outfield corps," according to Yahoo Sports, after Aaron Judge missed most of the season.

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Which Blue Jays were finalists?

The Blue Jays finalists were Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base, Andres Gimenez at shortstop, Brandon Valenzuela at catcher, Jose Soriano as a pitcher and Nathan Lukes in right field. Garbutt Disposal reported in October that the Blue Jays led MLB with five Gold Glove finalists. The Cubs also had five finalists, but two of them won awards: third baseman Alex Bregman and centre fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Crow-Armstrong won his second straight National League Gold Glove in centre field. He was the best defender in baseball based on Statcast's Fielding Runs Value, with a plus-26 rating that is the fifth best in a single season since the metric launched in 2016. The Cubs challenged their top prospect, first baseman Josiah Hartshorn, with promotions to three levels in 2026 and he won a Minor League Gold Glove.

How are Gold Glove winners selected?

All 30 managers and up to six coaches from each team voted from a pool of players in their respective leagues, excluding players from their own team. Those votes accounted for 75 per cent of the selection, while the SABR defensive index counted for the other 25 per cent. For the utility position, a specialized defensive formula is used in collaboration with SABR. The league announced finalists for each Gold Glove a few weeks ago, but the voting was already complete and those finalists were simply the top three vote getters at each position. Postseason performance had no impact on the awards, which have been given since 1957. The awards were split into American League and National League honours in 1958. The full list of 2026 Gold Glove winners in the American League includes Christian Walker of the Houston Astros at first base, Cole Young of the Seattle Mariners at second base, Taylor Walls of the Tampa Bay Rays at shortstop, Caleb Durbin of the Boston Red Sox at third base, Cody Bellinger of the New York Yankees in left field, Ceddanne Rafaela of the Boston Red Sox in centre field, Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Red Sox in right field, Ezequiel Duran of the Texas Rangers at utility, Tanner Bibee of the Cleveland Guardians as a pitcher and Dillon Dingler of the Detroit Tigers at catcher. The National League winners are Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves at first base, Brice Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers at second base, Geraldo Perdomo of the Arizona Diamondbacks at shortstop, Alex Bregman of the Chicago Cubs at third base, Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers in left field, Pete Crow Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs in centre field, Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks in right field, Mauricio Dubon of the Atlanta Braves at utility, Nolan McLean of the New York Mets as a pitcher and Gabriel Moreno of the Arizona Diamondbacks at catcher.

With files from Sportsnet, Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports