Photo: Matthew Tsang/Icon Sportswire
The BBWAA just voted to add a Relief Pitcher of the Year category. And though it won’t be awarded until 2026, we’d like to open a loophole to cast our vote for 2025, under the similar title of ‘Reliever of the Year’: Blue Jays center fielder Myles Straw.
The Blue Jays have two closers these days. One is pitcher Jeff Hoffman who has 30 saves in 37 opportunities amidst a 4.94 ERA.
They don’t have to worry as much about the other one, Straw.
Straw has made 60 starts and 57 ‘relief appearances,’ so to speak. The latter have been more frequent recently. He’s come off the bench as a defensive replacement in 14 of his last 19 appearances, which coincides with the return of center fielder Daulton Varsho on August 1.
We bring this all up because Straw is having a phenomenal season. He has 16 Runs Saved in center field, second-most at the position (despite ranking 26th in innings played) and 3 more in left field. The Blue Jays deploy him late in games, usually to protect leads or keep games close because he’s so good defensively.
Just look at what he did in two games (starts) against the Brewers to close out August. He had a hat trick: a home run robbery, a diving catch, and an outfield assist.
Past criteria suggests that Straw won’t be eligible for a Gold Glove Award. The usual threshold for eligibility has typically been measured at a team’s 138th game (the Blue Jays have now played 139) and Straw was about 80 innings short of what’s been needed in past seasons to qualify to be voted on (position players needed 698 innings).
Straw will be eligible for a Fielding Bible Award, at minimum as a center fielder and possibly as a multi-position player (the latter is based on criteria related to his season-ending innings totals and how often he plays different positions).
He’ll face extremely tough competition in center field in Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ceddanne Rafaela (among others). He’ll have a chance in the multi-position category, which Varsho won last year.
There’s good competition for Straw there too, particularly from Astros utility man Mauricio Dubon and Marlins infielder Otto López. Those two players are in completely different situation. Dubon is skilled enough to start at a multitude of spots. López was great at second base and has been great at shortstop since the Marlins flipped him and Xavier Edwards
Still, it feels like Straw merits his own category based on his combination of skills and usage. Maybe there needs to be something like Relief Pitcher of the Year for defense too.
