Should Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan win the Platinum Glove over Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr.?
Steven Kwan has received just about every defensive accolade a 28-year-old can achieve through their first four season in Major League Baseball.
The Cleveland Guardians’ star outfielder has already won four-straight Gold Glove Awards for American League left fielders, and had a chance to win the Platinum Glove in 2025 as well. Unfortunately for Kwan, he’ll have to wait another year to add that award to his resume, as on Friday, it was announced that the Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. will be wearing Platinum next season instead.
Anytime a rival earns an award over one of our beloved Guardians, there’s going to be a conversation about whether the Cleveland player was snubbed out of the award.
Where Kwan Had The Advantage
Kwan was better than Witt in one key defensive metric: defensive runs saved.
The Guardians outfielder racked up 22 DRS during the 2025 season, which was tied for the most in all of MLB. On the other hand, Witt only had three DRS, which, for reference, was the same number Gabriel Arias amassed over the season.
Seeing a large discrepancy in such a crucial defensive stat is certainly jarring when considering the player with the lower number won the ultimate award.
Kwan also had Witt beat in simply counting stats. The Guardians' outfielder only had eight errors (all throwing) during the season, while Witt tallied 10. Yes, each player played different positions, but it’s still interesting to see Witt win with more miscues throughout the season.
Oct 1, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan (38) makes a catch on a hit by Detroit Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows (22) in the fifth inning during game two of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesThe Metrics That Favored Witt
Just because Kwan had Witt beat in some areas doesn’t mean he was a total snub from the award; there were some metrics that favored the Royals' infielder.
Baseball Savant definitely viewed Witt as the better defender, with a fielding run value of 20 (99th percentile) and an outs above average of 24 (100th percentile. Comparably, Kwan had a fielding run value of 12 (95th percentile) and amassed five outs above average (90th percentile).
There are also the metrics that numbers can’t quantify: shortstop is objectively more of a demanding defensive position than outfield, and Witt was easily the top defender at the position, arguably of anyone in baseball.
Final Verdict
Calling someone a “snub” typically means that they were clearly the better choice over the winner. In this case, it was a close race, and there’s certainly a strong argument to be made that Kwan should have won, but Witt has strong numbers, too.
The Royals' infielder is a deserving winner, and it should just give Kwan more motivation to win Platinum in 2026.