A pair of Toronto Blue Jays players have received Gold Glove nominations for their defensive efforts in 2019.
Blue Jays backstop Danny Jansen and first baseman Justin Smoak have been nominated as Gold Glove finalists for their respective positions.
Smoak is no stranger to the process having been recognized in 2018 as well, last season the first baseman lost out to Matt Olson whom he is up against again this year along with Yuli Gurriel of the Houston Astros.
The soon-to-be free agent has an impressive .995 fielding percentage with just four errors in 686 putouts. However, the advanced metrics don’t do Smoak any favours as he has -3 Defensive Runs Saved and a -3.2 UZR/150. By comparison, Olson has a 10.5 UZR/150 rating while Gurriel has a 1.9 rating.
On its face, it would appear that the Athletics first baseman will repeat as the Gold Glove winner again this season over Smoak.
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Jansen sees himself nominated along with Roberto Perez of the Cleveland Indians and Christian Vazquez of the Boston Red Sox. This is Jansen’s first nomination after his first full season in the majors. None of this years catching nominees were on the ballot in 2018, a year in which Salvador Perez took home the gold.
The Jays rookie was tabbed as an offence first backstop but has really taken his defensive game to the next level. The 24-year old sported a .995 fielding percentage with 803 putouts and just four errors in 852.2 innings of work. Jansen also threw out 19 of a would-be 61 base stealers while accumulating 12 Defensive Runs Saved.
When looking at the defensive metrics, Jansen will be in tough versus Perez who threw out 20 of 49 runners and had 29 Defensive Runs Saved last season.
In the National League, former Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson has been nominated as a finalist. Donaldson is in tough against Nolan Arenado and Anthony Rendon.