Major League Baseball's 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists were announced on Wednesday. Among them was Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper, who received his second straight nod as a finalist in the National League at first base.
Usually you'd see a few other Phillies players in the final three at their respective positions, but this year Harper is the lone Phillies representative. That leaves others, like perennial finalist second baseman Bryson Stott, out in the cold. But while Stott continues to impress Phillies fans day in and day out, the biggest and most glaring snub from this year's Phillies team is shortstop Trea Turner.
While Phillies fans aren't used to thinking of Turner as an elite defender after his first two tough seasons with the glove in red pinstripes, the 32-year-old drastically improved in the field this season.
Trea Turner snubbed from Gold Glove Awards after impressive turnaround in the field
While he was busy capturing the NL batting title at the plate, Turner played 1,126 1/3 innings at short over 139 games. He registered just eight errors (five fielding, three throwing) after committing 40 errors over his first two seasons as a Phillie.
The three NL shortstops who Turner lost out to are no slouches either. Nick Allen of the Atlanta Braves, Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn and are all deserving of being finalists.
However, there's a case to be made that Turner deserved one of those three spots. While his +2 defensive runs saved (DRS) was well behind Betts (+17) and Allen (+12), but he was tied with Winn, and his other advanced metrics put him near the top of the class.
Turner finished third among NL shortstops with +11 fielding run value (FRV), Statcast's catch-all defenseive metric, right behind Allen (+12) and further back from Winn (+17). Betts was tied for seventh with +3 FRV.
Turner also finished third at the position in outs above average (OAA) with +16. Winn ranked first with +21 OAA and Allen was second with +17 OAA. Betts trailed in this category again, tied for sixth with +5 OAA.
So, even though fans know how much better Turner's defense was in 2025, it still would be nice to see him rewarded for his efforts. Especially after he put together his best all-around season in Philadelphia.
Bryce Harper named Phillies' only Gold Glove finalist
As for Harper, this was his second full season at first after transitioning from right field in 2023. In 1,132 2/3 innings over 130 games, he made just two errors. While Harper's +1 OAA is good, his other advanced stats make it feel like perhaps he got here thanks to his star power. He finished fourth among NL first basemen with -1 FRV and sixth with -3 DRS.
Harper is in a tough race against Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds' Spencer Steer. Olson led all MLB first basemen with +17 (DRS), while his +9 OAA was tops at first base in the NL. Steer finished tied for fourth among all MLB first basemen with +6 OAA.
It's unlikely that Phillies fans will see Harper finally win his first Gold Glove this year. It's also impossible for Turner, who is arguably more deserving, to win one.
The 2025 Gold Glove Awards will be announced on ESPN on Sunday, Nov. 2.