The Rays have two players in the Gold Glove mix this year, with shortstop Taylor Walls and left fielder Chandler Simpson both landing as finalists for baseball’s top defensive honor.
Walls is back in familiar territory. The 30-year-old has now been named a Gold Glove finalist three times, first in 2023 as a utility player and then again last season at shortstop.
He has been a constant in Tampa Bay’s infield since his big league debut in 2021, and even with a career 71 wRC+, his glove keeps him in the lineup. Walls previously came up short against Mauricio Dubon in 2023 and Bobby Witt Jr. last year.
This time, Walls is up against Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals and Andres Gimenez of the Toronto Blue Jays. On the numbers, Walls has a strong case.
He finished the 2026 season fourth among all players with 21 Defensive Runs Saved, far ahead of Witt Jr.’s 8 and Gimenez’s 2. The flip side is Outs Above Average, where Walls ended the year at -3 OAA.
Witt Jr. was at 24 OAA, while Gimenez followed at 19.
Simpson’s nod is more of a surprise on paper, though anyone who watched him this season probably saw it coming. A year ago, his defense left real questions about whether he had a long-term future with the glove. Since then, he’s made a huge leap after working with former Rays star and defensive consultant Kevin Kiermaier on jumps, Rays org outfield coordinator Jared Sandberg on technique, and first base/outfielders coach Corey Dickerson on mentality.
That overhaul has turned Simpson into one of the better outfielders in the sport over the course of a single season. He’ll be compared with Cody Bellinger of the NY Yankees and Wyatt Langford of the Texas Rangers. Bellinger leads the group with +21 DRS, but Simpson posted a better OAA at +8, and he did it while logging 200 more innings than Bellinger.
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