Making Dillon Dingler’s case to win Tigers’ first Gold Glove since 2016

No player for the Detroit Tigers has won a Gold Glove award for stellar defensive performance since second baseman Ian Kinsler did so in 2016, but that could change this year.

In his first full MLB season, Dillon Dingler was named a finalist for the Gold Glove at catcher alongside Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays and Carlos Narváez of the Boston Red Sox. Defensively, Dingler ranked among the top 15% of qualified catchers in Statcast Blocks Above Average (+10, 95th percentile), Caught Stealing Above Average (+4, 85th percentile) and framing (+7, 91st percentile).

The 30 MLB managers and up to six coaches from each team vote from a pool of players in their league, excluding players from their own team, to determine the Gold Glove winners at each position. These votes comprise 75% of the selection total, with the SABR Defensive Index counting for the other 25%.

The competition is stiff. Both Kirk and Narváez have strong defensive cases. Catcher defense is multi-faceted (framing, pop time, game-calling, etc.) and some metrics are less visible, so arguing “best catcher defense” requires reinforcing what’s observable to managers and coaches. Offense doesn’t directly count for the Gold Glove, but sometimes it influences narrative and additional visibility; Dingler’s bat is improving, but it's not yet elite.

Detroit has not had a Gold Glove winner in nearly a decade, and Dingler’s candidacy offers a timely redemption story for the organization and boosts his profile. Voters often lean toward players who provide visible value to their team, and Dingler doing so behind the scenes gives him momentum.

Why Dillon Dingler could be the Tigers' first Gold Glove winner since 2016

Dingler posted +6 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) among AL catchers. He also ranked among the best in blocking runs and throwing out base-stealers. After debuting in 2024, he seized the starting job in 2025 and logged significant playing time behind the plate. The longer a catcher logs meaningful innings, the more weight his defensive performance carries in the voting process.

Beyond raw catch-and-throw metrics, Dingler has shown strong blocking and game-calling traits (which are harder to quantify but visible to coaches and managers). His elite percentile in Blocks Above Average gives him a strong edge in one of the “harder to replicate” catcher-defense skills of preventing wild pitches and passed balls.

Putting it all together, Dingler checks the major boxes for a Gold Glove catcher, exhibiting elite blocking, excellent arm strength and high-visibility defensive work. He has a very legitimate chance of winning the award, especially given the narrative of the Tigers needing a defensive backbone behind the plate.