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Category: 2025 MLB

  • Are the Pirates A Good Defensive Team?

    Are the Pirates A Good Defensive Team?

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: T-22nd

    Team Strengths

    Ke’Bryan Hayes has recorded at least 10 Defensive Runs Saved in each of the last four years. He was our 2023 Defensive Player of the Year and though he slipped to 10 Runs Saved last season, he still ranked tied for 2nd at the position (even though injuries kept him below 100 games).

    Most Defensive Runs Saved – 3rd Base

    Last 4 Seasons

    Player Runs Saved
    Ke’Bryan Hayes 72
    Ryan McMahon 50
    Matt Chapman 40
    Nolan Arenado 35

    Next to Hayes at shortstop will be Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had 12 Runs Saved there in 2021 and 10 more in 2022, but played only 44 games there the last two seasons. Kiner-Falefa can also play third base and second base if needed and has a pretty good stat-based reputation at each position.

    Jared Triolo won the Gold Glove for utility players last season. His best position last year was second base where he saved 6 runs in 47 games. He also has 6 Runs Saved in 96 games at third base over the last two seasons. Another utility player, Adam Frazier, has five seasons with at least 4 Runs Saved at second base (including 2024 with the Royals).

    Team Weaknesses

    Oneil Cruz got his feet wet in center field with 23 games last season. He had -3 Runs Saved, but more notably 9 Misplays & Errors (a high total for a small span of games). Cruz replaces Michael A. Taylor, one of the better defensive center fielders in the game, albeit with a limited bat.

    First baseman Endy Rodriguez doesn’t have a lot of experience at the position, so we’re a little wary of him, though he does have the capability to play multiple other spots, including catcher.

    Nick Gonzales is slated to be the starting second baseman. The Pirates have better defensive options than him, so we’ll see how long he lasts there. He had -4 Runs Saved in 85 games last season.

    Other Things To Know

    With the signing of Tommy Pham, who can play an average left field, Bryan Reynolds is probably going to play right field, the position he’s played the least of the three outfield spots in his time in the major leagues. Reynolds has 4 Runs Saved in 53 games there, though all those Runs Saved came in 2019.

    Are The Pirates A Good Defensive Team?

    The Pirates have some good defensive players but I wouldn’t yet call them a good defensive team. The loss of Taylor is going to be hard to make up and center field is a tough position to break someone in at (see Jazz Chisholm among others).

  • Are The Brewers A Good Defensive Team?

    Are The Brewers A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 4th

    Team Strengths

    Brice Turang led second basemen in Runs Saved in 2024, and though he didn’t win a Fielding Bible Award, he won the Platinum Glove for the National League. Turang has a great highlight-reel collection of difficult plays, particularly those in which he went to his right to take away a base hit.

    The Brewers have four very good defensive outfielders between Gold Glove winner Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, and Blake Perkins, though Perkins is out until May with a fractured shin. 

    Brewers right fielders led the majors in Defensive Runs Saved last season and their center fielders finished 3rd. 

    The team also knows what it’s getting from catcher William Contreras, who is a good pitch framer and saved 5 and 6 runs the last two seasons.

    Notable Brewers Defensive Runs Saved Ranks – 2024

    Position Rank
    Right Field 1st
    Second Base 1st
    Center Field 3rd
    Shortstop T-29th

    Team Weaknesses

    Christian Yelich is the weak spot in the defense. Yelich has posted a negative Runs Saved in each of the last five seasons in left field, including last year when he played only 48 games. As the roster currently stands, he’s likely to DH, so his defense shouldn’t impact the team too much.

    Defense has never really been Rhys Hoskins’ forte and he limited the damage to -3 Runs Saved last season. Hoskins has had seasons with a positive Runs Saved in the past so he’s not necessarily a huge liability.

    Other Things To Know

    The Brewers actually lost the weakest link in last year’s defense when Willy Adames, who plummeted to a positional worst -16 Runs Saved at shortstop, signed with the Giants. 

    They’ll move Joey Ortiz from third base, where he was pretty good, to shortstop, which was his primary position in the minors. Ortiz had a minor league-best 14 Runs Saved at shortstop in 2022, though he dipped to -2 in 2023. Oliver Dunn replaces Ortiz at third base. He looked alright in 27 games there last year, with no errors and only 1 Defensive Misplay.

    Are The Brewers A Good Defensive Team?

    Yes, the Brewers have a good mix of athleticism and skill. They were the most skilled defensive team in the NL last season and though they might not rack up home run robberies like they did last season (when they had an MLB-best 10 and Perkins had 5 of them), if healthy, their Runs Saved total should be among the best in the majors.   

  • Are The Blue Jays A Good Defensive Team?

    Are The Blue Jays A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good? 

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 1st

    Team Strengths

    When healthy, Daulton Varsho is the best defensive outfielder in baseball and Defensive Runs Saved doesn’t have it as particularly close over the last three seasons. He’s recovered from shoulder surgery more quickly than expected, and is currently functioning as a designated hitter in spring training. We’ll find out if that injury cuts into how aggressively he goes crashing into fences to make catches and how he throws once he returns to the outfield. 

    While the Blue Jays wait for Varsho, Myles Straw, a Gold Glove winner two years ago, or Joey Loperfido (5 Runs Saved in left field) could take his place.

    The Blue Jays traded for the best defensive second baseman, Andrés Giménez, who is a wizard when it comes to making plays. He’s still in his prime at age 26 and is the runaway leader in Runs Saved at the position over the last three seasons.

    Ernie Clement isn’t Matt Chapman but by Runs Saved he was pretty good. He led all American League third basemen with 9 Runs Saved last season and was also pretty good at shortstop too.

    Alejandro Kirk is good at a lot of things that catchers do – pitch framing, pitch blocking and throwing out basestealers. He’s first among catchers in Runs Saved over the last three seasons.

    Blue Jays Players Leading MLB in Defensive Runs Saved – Last 3 Seasons

    Player Position
    Daulton Varsho CF
    Andres Gimenez 2B
    Alejandro Kirk C

    Team Weaknesses

    The Blue Jays have a few players who fall into the category of “They were at one time a decent defender but maybe not anymore.”

    That encompasses first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., shortstop Bo Bichette, right fielder George Springer, and left fielder Anthony Santander among others. Each of them finished 2024 with a negative Defensive Runs Saved but has much better seasons in their respective histories.

    Other Things To Consider

    Last year’s midseason trade of Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Pirates was a notable one because of how few players have the defensive versatility that he has. IKF had good Runs Saved totals at second base, shortstop and third base. Clement is the closest thing the team has to that at the moment.

    Are The Blue Jays A Good Defensive Team?

    Yes, particularly at three spots up the middle. Are they still best-in-baseball good? They could be, particularly if Varsho came back performing at a similar skill level to the last couple of years.

  • Are The Guardians A Good Defensive Team?

    Are The Guardians A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 2nd

    Team Strengths

    Left fielder Steven Kwan is the best defender at his position by a good margin since making his debut in 2022.

    Most Defensive Runs Saved – Left Field

    Last 3 Seasons

    Player Runs Saved
    Steven Kwan 46
    Ian Happ 24
    Daulton Varsho 22
    Brandon Marsh 20
    Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 18

    First baseman Carlos Santana has remade himself as a defensive first basemen and has been among the best in the game the last two seasons (20 Runs Saved ranks 2nd). Should anything happen to him, the team’s likely DH, Kyle Manzardo, had a good track record in the minor leagues. 

    Shortstop Brayan Rocchio had a very good rookie season, ranking 3rd among shortstops in Runs Saved. He was particularly good on the double play and it will be interesting to see how he works with a new second baseman on that, with Andrés Giménez traded to the Blue Jays.

    Speaking of remakes, Bo Naylor made vast improvements to his pitch framing last season and jumped from -3 Runs Saved overall in 2023 to 11 Runs Saved in 2024.

    Team Weaknesses

    Center field could be problematic if that’s Lane Thomas’ primary position. He has -6 Runs Saved there in his career and had -11 in right field last season. Will Brennan had -6 Runs Saved in right field, so the outfield outside of Kwan looms as the biggest weakness.

    Other Things To Consider

    We didn’t mention José Ramírez as a strength, though we could have. He’s totaled 8, 1, 1, and 6 Runs Saved in the last four seasons playing about the same number of innings each year at third base. He’s an above-average defender.

    There seems to be a clear path for Travis Bazzana to become the team’s regular second baseman pretty quickly. We have only a 27-game sample size to go on, in which he had 2 Runs Saved at High-A Lake County last season. We’ve seen 20-80 grades of 40 (Eric Longenhagen, FanGraphs) and 50 (MLB Pipeline) on his glove, so it doesn’t seem like he’ll be at Giménez’s level.

    Are They A Good Defensive Team?

    If the Guardians had Giménez, it’s fair to say they’d have entered 2025 as the best defensive team in the majors. Without him, they’re still pretty good. The spots where they are strong, they are quite strong.

  • Stat of the Week: 2025’s Rising Defensive Stars

    Stat of the Week: 2025’s Rising Defensive Stars

    For the third straight year, let’s talk about MLB’s rising defensive stars. Last year, we defined a rising star as a player who is in their age-23-or-younger season for the upcoming year who had at least 10 Defensive Runs Saved in the major leagues the previous season.

    Five players fit the description. Let’s run through each of them.

    Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn won a Fielding Bible Award as a 22-year-old last year. He led all shortstops with 14 Runs Saved. Winn didn’t have the best range among shortstops last season, but combined good range with fantastic work on double plays, and came out as the best at a position with many young standouts.

    Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford won both MLB’s Player of the Month for September, when he hit .300 with a .996 OPS, and was our co-Defensive Player of the Month for recording 11 Runs Saved, 9 in left field. Langford finished with 12 Runs Saved for the season at his primary position and led left fielders in the Outfield Arm component of Runs Saved. Something to watch: He’s been hindered by an oblique injury this spring.

    Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio was great in his debut season as a 20-year-old in 2024. Chourio saved 9 runs in right field and 3 runs in left field despite playing 28 more games at the latter position. His range was fine in both spots though his arm played better in right field. Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters that Chourio will see some time in center field this year as well, so it will be a challenge for him to duplicate his 2024 numbers.

    Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong finished 3rd in the Fielding Bible Awards at the position last year, and I think if you polled our voting group, he’d be the preseason favorite for 2025. Armstrong wowed with his defense, though mostly away from Wrigley Field. He actually had -4 Range Runs Saved at home but led center fielders with 9 on the road (and had 6 Runs Saved for things other than range).

    Last but not least on the list is Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who makes it for the second year in a row. He had the best defensive season among those on last year’s list (Anthony Volpe, Johan Rojas, and Gunnar Henderson were the others).

    Tovar had 10 Runs Saved last season and his 22 Runs Saved over the last two seasons trails only Dansby Swanson’s 24 among shortstops. Similar to Winn, he’s excellent at turning the double play and he’s also very good (relative to other shortstops) at getting outs on balls hit to his right.

    Last year I also picked an honorable mention (C.J. Abrams) and I’ll do this again this time. Let’s go with Abrams’ teammate, Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews, who had 4 Runs Saved in 31 games as a major leaguer. Crews also had 2 Runs Saved in 79 games as a minor league center fielder. It’s hard to have a positive Runs Saved as a minor leaguer given that the out probabilities that SIS uses judge them against MLB players. But Crews was able to have a good defensive season.

    Keep an eye on these players in 2025. The expectations are high, but deservedly so.