Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire
This year marks the 20th annual Fielding Bible Awards, which SIS created in 2006 to honor the best defensive players in baseball. It was meant to go beyond recognizing the top player in each league and from our view, it has accomplished that. Defensive performance has gotten better recognition with the growth of both our and other statistics that allow us to go well beyond what information previously existed.
This is the second of two preview articles covering this year’s Fielding Bible Awards. The first covered catchers and infielders. This one covers outfielders, pitchers, and multi-position players, as well as Defensive Team of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. This will be the first year we announce a Team of the Year.
The Fielding Bible Awards are voted on by a panel of experts who can vote based on whatever criteria they choose, including observation and subjective judgement as well as statistical analysis. Each position has one overall winner, different from the Gold Gloves which has one in each league.
The Fielding Bible Awards will be announced on Thursday October 23 from 2 to 3 pm ET on Bluesky.
(Defensive Runs Saved totals in parentheses)
Left Field
Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Steven Kwan (22)
NL Gold Glove Favorite: Ian Happ (9)
AL Gold Glove Favorite: Kwan
Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Wyatt Langford (12), Jarren Duran (11), Tyler Soderstrom (10)
Steven Kwan is likely to win for the third time in four years after racking up well more Runs Saved than any other left fielder. He had a great season not just turning fly balls and line drives into outs, but also shutting down opponents when they tried to advance. He led all outfielders in Outfield Arm Runs Saved.
Ian Happ did likewise in terms of minimizing baserunner advancement and may win his fourth straight Gold Glove Award.
Center Field
Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Ceddanne Rafaela (20)
NL Gold Glove Favorite: Pete Crow-Armstrong (15)
AL Gold Glove Favorite: Rafaela
Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Myles Straw (15), Jacob Young (13), Victor Scott II (12)
For a good part of the season Ceddanne Rafaela and Pete Crow-Armstrong were neck-and-neck in Runs Saved. But in the latter part of the year, Rafaela held steady and Crow-Armstrong’s pace slowed down. Both are highly impressive at chasing down fly balls and we’d be surprised if someone else won a Gold Glove Award at the position.
Right Field
Fielding Bible Award Favorites: Adolis García (16), Fernando Tatis Jr. (15), Wilyer Abreu (15)
NL Gold Glove Favorite: Tatis Jr.
AL Gold Glove Favorite: García, Abreu
Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Cam Smith (12), Sal Frelick (9)
You could make a good case that any of Adolis García, Fernando Tatis Jr., or Wilyer Abreu is Fielding Bible Award-worthy. García engineered a nifty turnaround after a rough 2024. Tatis Jr. looked like something closer to his 2023 self when he won the Platinum Glove. He led MLB in home run robberies in 2025. Abreu was pretty much just as good as when he won the Fielding Bible Award last season.
Pitcher
Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Max Fried (10)
NL Gold Glove Favorite: Logan Webb (7)
AL Gold Glove Favorite: Fried
Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Luis Severino (6), Matthew Boyd (6), David Peterson (6), Spencer Schwellenbach (6)
Max Fried became the first pitcher to total at least 10 Runs Saved since Dallas Keuchel in 2021. He’s in position to win his second Fielding Bible Award after having earned the honor in 2020.
Logan Webb has fielded his position well throughout his career and took a big step in lowering his stolen bases allowed to 9, his fewest in any of the five seasons in which he’s pitched 140 innings. There is tough opposition in lefties who stop the running game in Matthew Boyd and David Peterson. Had Spencer Schwellenbach stayed healthy, we suspect he’d have been right there with Fried. The shortstop-turned-pitcher is that good.
Multi-Position
Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Ernie Clement (22)
NL Utility Gold Glove Favorite: Jared Triolo (9), Miguel Rojas (7)
AL Utility Gold Glove Favorite: Clement, Mauricio Dubon (14)
Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Myles Straw (18), Jose Caballero (10), Nathan Lukes (10)
Our Multi-Position Award is a tricky one to assess because it pits different types of players against each other. There are some players who played a combination of infield positions, some who played all three outfield positions, and some who played a mix of both infield and outfield.
We listed Ernie Clement as the favorite because he was a standout at two different spots (second base and third base) and was capable at both. Mauricio Dubon feels most likely to be his top competition, as he played every position except pitcher and catcher and totaled 14 Runs Saved.
NL Gold Glove could have a repeat winner in Jared Triolo, though veteran Miguel Rojas —a former full-time shortstop— has made himself into a very good all-around infielder.
The candidate pool for this award was tilted a bit. There were seven American League players on the ballot with at least 10 Runs Saved. Triolo’s 9 Runs Saved were the most for any NL player.
Team of the Year
Fielding Bible Award Favorites: Texas Rangers (89), Chicago Cubs (84)
NL Team Gold Glove Favorite: Cubs
AL Team Gold Glove Favorites: Rangers
Other Fielding Bible contenders: Dodgers (67), Blue Jays (51)
The Rangers and Cubs separated themselves from the other teams defensively in 2025. The Rangers led the majors in Defensive Runs Saved. They were led by right fielder Adolis García, who led the position in Runs Saved, shortstop Corey Seager, and outfielder Wyatt Langford. The Cubs got positive Runs Saved at eight of the nine positions and have very strong Gold Glove candidates in second baseman Nico Hoerner, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, and left fielder Ian Happ.
The Dodgers are an odd case because though they had strong infield defense up the middle, the primary reason why they finished third in Runs Saved was because of their defensive positioning numbers.
The Blue Jays are the one other team with a decent chance to win one of these awards. The Blue Jays had the most Runs Saved from the skill of their players (as opposed to defensive positioning). They had the co-leader in Runs Saved, Ernie Clement, and led the majors in Runs Saved at catcher second base and center field despite not having the individual leader at those positions. The only thing holding them back were their struggles at shortstop and right field.
Player of the Year
Player of the Year Favorites: Steven Kwan (22), Ernie Clement (22), Ceddanne Rafaela (21), Patrick Bailey (19), Ke’Bryan Hayes (19)
NL Platinum Glove Favorites: Bailey, Hayes
AL Platinum Glove Favorites: Kwan, Clement, Rafaela
Player of the Year is definitely a wide-open race.
Steven Kwan, Ceddanne Rafaela, Patrick Bailey, and Ke’Bryan Hayes all led their respective positions in Runs Saved by at least 5 runs. Clement managed an impressive accomplishment of totaling at least 10 Runs Saved at two positions and tied Rafaela for the MLB lead in Defensive Wins Above Replacement (a stat devised by Baseball-Reference that uses Runs Saved in its calculation).
