Rawlings announced the finalists for the Gold Glove Award on Wednesday, annually awarded to the best fielder at each position in each league, with multiple Toronto Blue Jays players named.
The Blue Jays were buoyed by a strong defensive performance throughout the year, helping the team to a 94-68 record and the top spot in the American League standings.
Per FanGraphs, the Blue Jays as a team ranked first in defensive runs above average (38.6) - which measures a player’s total defensive value relative to league average - and fourth in total defensive runs saved (51).
Catcher Alejandro Kirk was named as a finalist, alongside Carlos Narvaez of the Boston Red Sox and Dillon Dingler of the Detroit Tigers. A win for Kirk would be the first in his six-year career.
Two Blue Jays first basemen were named finalists at the position: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Ty France (who was acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline). Guerrero won the award in 2022. France (9) and Guerrero (8) finished second and third in the majors in DRS for first baseman this season. Carlos Santana of the Cleveland Guardians is the other finalist at first base.
Andres Gimenez was named a finalist at second base in his first season with the Blue Jays. Despite playing in only 101 games this year, Gimenez ranked fourth among second basemen in DRS. Gimenez is a three-time Gold Glover and won the Platinum Glove for the best fielder in the majors in 2023. The other finalists are Luis Rengifo of the Los Angeles Angels and Marcus Semien of the Texas Rangers.
Ernie Clement of the Blue Jays was named a finalist at third base. Clement led all major leaguers in defensive Wins Above Replacement (2.9), per Baseball Reference. He finished fourth in the majors in DRS at third base (11), despite playing only 604 innings at the spot. No other player in the top five played fewer than 1,000 innings this year. Clement is a finalist alongside Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez and Maikel Garcia of the Kansas City Royals.
Additionally, Clement is a finalist at the utility position, alongside Mauricio Dubon of the Houston Astros and Daniel Schneemann of the Guardians. Clement played 603 innings at third base, 423.1 innings at second base, 170 innings at shortstop and 69 innings at first base this season.
The winners of the award will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 2.
