Three Yankees make the Gold Glove finalists cut...including Juan Soto

NEW YORK – Maybe you did a little double take seeing Juan Soto as a Gold Glove Award finalist, but the Yankees’ manager says he isn’t all that shocked.

“I’m not surprised,’’ said Aaron Boone, with three players up for the award.

Somehow, Soto is an AL finalist at right field, along with the Boston Red Sox’s Wilyer Abreu and the Los Angeles Angels’ Joe Adell.

In left field, the reliable and rangy Alex Verdugo is an AL finalist with the Cleveland Guardians’ Steve Kwan and the Baltimore Orioles’ Colton Cowser.

And at shortstop, Anthony Volpe is looking to repeat as the AL Gold Glove Award winner, competing with the Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. and Cleveland’s Brayan Rocchio.

Volpe had an even better and more consistent season defensively than in 2023, his rookie year.

All 30 MLB managers and their coaching staffs vote on the award, though you’re not permitted to cast votes for your own players.

Speaking before Tuesday's AL Championship Series Game 2 against Cleveland, Boone said voters are provided reference material that includes defensive metrics, and Soto “was up there on all the right field stuff in a lot of areas.’’

In the raw statistics, Soto has 10 outfield assists, but he’s also protecting a limited area at Yankee Stadium, with its short right field porch.

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At Fenway Park, a ballpark with a famously vast right field and an even more famously short left field in front of the Green Monster, Boone played Soto in left and Verdugo in right.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge might be considered an oversight, not making the finalists list in center field, where the AL Gold Glove Award is between the Toronto Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho, the Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran and the Houston Astros' Jake Meyers.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Three Yankees make the Gold Glove finalists cut...including Juan Soto