The nomination of Yankees right fielder Juan Soto for a Gold Glove award was met with initial skepticism from baseball analysts. Although his defensive play improved following his trade from the Padres, few considered him deserving of the sport’s highest defensive accolade.
This doubt was voiced during Game 4 of the World Series by FOX analyst and Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz. After watching Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts prevent a hit from Alex Verdugo on a line drive in the fourth inning, Smoltz contrasted Betts’ elite defense with Soto’s positioning, comparing Soto’s approach to that of a goalie and emphasizing Betts’ ability to consistently stop extra-base hits.
“You see the difference just right field play in this series already?” the former pitcher said. “I mean, it’s almost impossible to get a double when you hit it to Mookie Betts, but we’ve seen the doubles and triples when it’s gone to Soto’s positioning and defense. It’s like he’s playing goalie out there.”
Yankees’ Boone defends Soto
Soto’s defensive statistics paint a complex picture. He has been reliable, recording just two errors over 143 games and registering 10 outfield assists. However, advanced metrics suggest otherwise. Soto’s minus-four Outs Above Average ranks him tied for 37th among qualified right fielders, while his minus-one Defensive Runs Saved places him tied for 13th among players with at least 500 innings.
Manager Aaron Boone defended Soto’s Gold Glove nomination, pointing to strong performances in various defensive categories provided in the voting materials. Boone emphasized Soto’s commitment to improving his defense, noting that his youth and athleticism contributed to better-than-expected results, despite some challenges with plays off the wall.
“I’m not surprised,” the Yankees manager defended the outfielder’s Gold Glove nomination. “Because I vote on that — you can’t vote for your own guys — but we get that [ballot] two or three weeks ago, it pops on your desk. They give you numbers in there to reference. He was up there, I noticed, on all the right field stuff in a lot of areas. Plus he’s had a ton of assists out there. But I also heard that he cared about it. So you get a young, athletic guy that cares about doing it out there, they got a chance to be good. He had a couple games where he struggled going back on a ball against the wall, but he’s also made a lot of plays out there, too.”
Soto’s nomination places him among fellow finalists Wilyer Abreu of the Red Sox and Jo Adell of the Angels. He joins Yankees teammates Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo in the nomination pool, with Volpe previously winning the award in his rookie season.
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