BOSTON – The impenetrable trio of defenders that created highlight-reel plays all season for the Red Sox has resulted in the club having three Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners for the first time since 2018.
At third base, Caleb Durbin captured his first Gold Glove in just his second MLB season. Once a high school wrestler, the diminutive Durbin uses his quick-twitch movements to enhance his reaction time at a position that demands it.
Right fielder Wilyer Abreu, whose superior range and positioning is matched by his cannon arm, is now batting 1.000 in his pursuit of Gold Gloves, winning one in each of his first three full Major League seasons.
Then there is center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, whose high-wire act led to him spending much of his season on the outfield grass finishing a diving catch. This is back-to-back Gold Gloves for Rafaela. And like his close friend Abreu, Rafaela is also backed by a strong arm that makes baserunners cautious in trying to advance on him.
This is the fifth time in club history Boston has had three Gold Glovers in a season. In addition to ‘18, the Sox also pulled off the impressive three-feat in 2011, 1979 and 1968.
Given that the Red Sox have had some stellar players manning the hot corner through the years -- including Wade Boggs, Mike Lowell, Adrian Beltré and Alex Bregman among others -- it is impressive that Durbin joins Frank Malzone (1957-59) as just the second player to win a Gold Glove for Boston at third base.
After Durbin was traded to Boston on the eve of Spring Training, the club hedged for a couple of weeks, debating on if he would play third base or second. In hindsight, it is clear the Red Sox made the right choice.
Durbin finished tied for the AL lead at his position in runs prevented (five) while finishing second in outs above average (six).
By now, Red Sox fans are well aware of the prowess of the combo of Rafaela and Abreu in right and center, where the general agreement between them is that nothing should drop in their area.
Rafaela and Abreu are the third pair of outfielder teammates in history to both win Gold Gloves in consecutive years.
The others? Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn for the 1978-79 Red Sox, and Andy Van Slyke and Barry Bonds for the ‘90-92 Pirates.
Including the Gold Gloves secured by Abreu and Rafaela in each of the last two seasons, this is the sixth time in Red Sox history they’ve had multiple outfielders secure the award in the same season.
Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts won them together in 2018. Evans and Lynn, as mentioned above, went back to back in 1978-79. Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski and Reggie Smith were the first Sox outfielder duo to pull it off in ‘68.
Rafaela’s 17 outs above average in ‘26 were surpassed only by brilliant Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (26). Per Statcast, Rafaela made 10 five-star catches (plays that had a chance of 0-25 percent of being made), good for the best total in MLB.
According to The Fielding Bible, Abreu’s 28 defensive runs saved were tops in MLB, while Rafaela was tied for third with 21.