The Toronto Blue Jays have quite a few player’s up for personal accolades this offseason.
It should come as no surprise how many players are up for the Silver Slugger Award, as their offense was arguably the best in baseball throughout 2025 which led them to their first World Series appearance since 1993.
First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette are up for awards at their positions. But designated hitter/outfielder George Springer is looking to make history by becoming the second player to ever win two Silver Slugger Awards in a single year across different positions.
At designated hitter, there are two other finalists he is up against: Yandy Díaz of the Tampa Bay Rays and Brent Rooker of the Athletics. At first glance, it would be unfathomable for him to not take home the Silver Slugger at the designated hitter spot.
Despite getting significantly less at-bats than both Diaz and Rooker, he recorded more runs, homers, walks drawn and a significantly better slash line. On paper, this should be a no-brainer.
| Springer | Díaz | Rooker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| At-Bats | 498 | 583 | 626 |
| Runs | 106 | 79 | 92 |
| Total Hits | 154 | 175 | 164 |
| Doubles | 27 | 29 | 40 |
| Triples | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Home Runs | 32 | 25 | 30 |
| RBI | 84 | 83 | 89 |
| Walks Drawn | 69 | 57 | 65 |
| Strikeouts | 111 | 92 | 155 |
| Batting Average | .309 | .300 | .262 |
| On-Base Percentage | .399 | .362 | .335 |
| Slugging Percentage | .560 | .482 | .479 |
| OPS | .959 | .848 | .814 |
The outfield is figured a little different since it isn’t broken up by each individual position. Because of that, there are six finalists with three taking home the honor. The at-bats is something to look at again, as Springer goes up against some of the best in the business.
It would feel almost scandalous if Aaron Judge didn’t earn his fifth Silver Slugger after the year he had, but the other two spots are up for grabs. Cody Bellinger and Byron Buxton didn’t have quite the seasons that Riley Greene, Julio Rodríguez or Springer had, which could eliminate those two and bring things down to three finalists for just two awards.
When look at the stats, Springer has over 100 less at-bats. But he is the only one with an OPS over .900 between the three to complement his .560 slugging percentage. Despite less times swinging a bat, he drew more walks, matched Rodriguez for runs scored and had a comparable amount of hits and longballs.
| Greene | Judge | Bellinger | Rodríguez | Buxton | Springer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At-Bats | 600 | 541 | 588 | 652 | 488 | 498 |
| Runs | 84 | 137 | 89 | 106 | 97 | 106 |
| Total Hits | 155 | 179 | 160 | 174 | 129 | 154 |
| Doubles | 33 | 30 | 25 | 31 | 21 | 27 |
| Triples | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| Home Runs | 36 | 53 | 29 | 32 | 35 | 32 |
| RBI | 111 | 114 | 98 | 95 | 83 | 84 |
| Walks Drawn | 46 | 124 | 57 | 44 | 41 | 69 |
| Strikeouts | 201 | 160 | 90 | 152 | 148 | 111 |
| Batting Average | .258 | .331 | .272 | .267 | .264 | .309 |
| On-Base % | .313 | .457 | .334 | .324 | .327 | .399 |
| Slugging % | .493 | .688 | .480 | .474 | .551 | .560 |
| OPS | .806 | 1.145 | .814 | .798 | .878 | .959 |
Springer could ultimately take home both Sliver Slugger Awards for his all-around performance if his 498 at-bats compared to the 600-plus the others have is taken into consideration.
The AL winners will be announced on Friday, and there is a good chance Springer etches himself in the MLB history books.
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