Morning everyone, and happy Monday!
The Athletics had a pair of players nominated as finalists for the Gold Glove at their respective positions. It was a slight surprise but one welcomed by the fan base. Unfortunately neither was able to reel in the prestigious award but being a finalist is still something to be proud of!
Former 1st-round pick Tyler Soderstrom was the lone position player to be a finalist for the A’s this year. And the fact he was among the final three at his position is a massive
testament to his athleticism and ability to adjust. Originally drafted as a catcher, the A’s recognized fairly early on that his long-term future was not behind the plate, even though the had him still getting reps at the position. The most obvious and common positional switch is to first base, which is exactly what the A’s did. Soderstrom practiced the position all offseason long and during the first month of the season he not only looked competent, but comfortable at his new position as well. Unfortunately for him he had an epic prospect coming up behind him in Nick Kurtz, necessitating yet another change of position for the young lefty slugger.
The A’s made the move of Soderstrom to left field on the same day Kurtz made his big league debut, April 23rd. From there onward Sodey was more or less the everyday left fielder and as the season went on he began to look more and more comfortable on the grass. Time will tell how the outfield situation all shakes out but heading into next year, the A’s will have a Gold Gold nominee in left field, a potential runaway favorite in center field in Denzel Clarke, and another borderline Gold Glover in right in Lawrence Butler, who filled in admirably in center once Clarke went on the IL. Could the A’s outfield defense be one of the best in the American League next season? The emergence of Soderstrom as a viable defensive left fielder has made life easier on the A’s roster construction.
The other Athletic nominated for a Gold Glove was starting pitcher Luis Severino. The veteran right-hander was nominated for the second time in his career and has now been a finalist in two straight seasons after being one of the finalists last season with the Mets. Alas, Sevy lost out in the award to Yankees lefty Max Fried, which isn’t a total surprise considering he’s in a bigger market. Still nice to be nominated though!
The long offseason is upon us. Don’t worry, Spring Training will be here before we know it. Until then, have a great week everyone!
A’s Coverage:
- Important Dates for the A’s this offseason
- Good Mourning. Baseball Season Ends Tonight
- Everything you need to know about the A’s offseason plans
- Could the World Series’ most unlikeliest hero be the A’a answer at third base?
- Which Athletic could be next in line for an extension?
- Former A’s pitcher just became a Dodgers legend
- A’s 2026 Season Schedule
MLB News and Interest:
- Dodgers win 2025 World Series
- Right-handed Yoshinobu Yamamoto named World Series MVP
- Championship parade set for Monday in LA
- Dodgers early favorite for championship for 2026
- Blue Jays’ Ernie Clement makes postseason history with record 30 hits
- Max Scherzer intends to play in 2026
- Right-handed Chris Bassitt interested in returning to Blue Jays
- Renowned pitching coach Mike Maddux leaves Rangers, joins Angels coaching staff
- The 2025-2026 offseason officially begins
- Today in baseball history
Best of X:
The Gold Glovers in the American League:
Former Athletic Matt Olson with some more hardware:
From Saturday:
And last night:
