{"id":108717,"date":"2025-10-22T21:00:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T01:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=108717"},"modified":"2025-10-22T21:00:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T01:00:52","slug":"how-astros-defense-still-shined-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/10\/22\/how-astros-defense-still-shined-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Astros Defense Still Shined in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Although the Houston Astros\u2019 2025 season did not go <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/10\/07\/what-went-wrong-for-houston-astros-2025-season\/\" target=\"_self\">as planned<\/a>, missing the postseason for the first time since 2016, their defense remained elite all year.<\/p>\n<p>The Astros have long been one of baseball\u2019s best defensive teams in the league during their golden era run, collecting multiple Gold Gloves in the process. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/correca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carlos Correa<\/a> notably won the Platinum Glove Award for the American League in 2021, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/penaje02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeremy Pe\u00f1a<\/a> and former right fielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tuckeky01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Tucker<\/a> earned Gold Gloves in 2022.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Last season, former third baseman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bregmal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alex Bregman<\/a> captured his first career Gold Glove. Additionally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/altuvjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jose Altuve<\/a> won a Gold Glove in 2015, and former first baseman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gourryu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yuli Gurriel<\/a> claimed his in 2021.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Two years ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dubonma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mauricio Dub\u00f3n<\/a> became the first player in Astros history to win the Gold Glove Award <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/mauricio-dubon-wins-2023-al-utility-gold-glove-award\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">at the utility spot,<\/a> which was added in 2022. That was his first career Gold Glove. He could add another to his collection in November.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_108740\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-108740\" style=\"width: 963px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-108740\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27119713_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"963\" height=\"642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27119713_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27119713_168400885_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27119713_168400885_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27119713_168400885_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27119713_168400885_lowres-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27119713_168400885_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27119713_168400885_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 963px) 100vw, 963px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-108740\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sep 19, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros center fielder Mauricio Dubon (14) warms up prior to the game against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Two Astros Nominated for Gold Gloves<\/h2>\n<p>The Astros announced this month that right fielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithca07.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cam Smith<\/a> and utility man Mauricio Dub\u00f3n are finalists for the 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Award at their respective positions. This marks the third straight season Dubon has earned a nomination for the prestigious defensive award at the utility spot.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Congratulations to Cam Smith and Mauricio Dub\u00f3n on being finalists for the 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Award!<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RawlingsGoldGloveAwards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#RawlingsGoldGloveAwards<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/z9u4XZaMHx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/z9u4XZaMHx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Houston Astros (@astros) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/astros\/status\/1978484227550195930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Dub\u00f3n has been one of the most versatile players in baseball, with starts at every single position except catcher. The Honduran made 37 starts at second base, along with 24 starts at shortstop, as well as third base (15), left field (15), and center field (10). He also made two starts in right field and even one start at first base.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Dub\u00f3n became the first player in team history to start at seven different positions for consecutive seasons. The 2022 World Series champion ranked third in the AL with 19 outs above average. He\u2019s been a critical piece and a fan favorite in Houston for his unique personality and versatility.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Dub\u00f3n truly found a home in Houston after a 2022 trade from the San Francisco Giants. He has noted in the past how he was treated much better with the Astros and how the vibes are a much better fit for him.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The Rookie Outperforms<\/h3>\n<p>This would have been a huge surprise to expect at the beginning of the year, but Cam Smith made it happen. The star rookie is nominated for the 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove in right field. The 14th overall pick in 2024 by the Chicago Cubs, Smith was traded to the Astros on Dec. 13 in the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/13\/kyle-tucker-astros-cubs-deal\/\" target=\"_self\">Kyle Tucker trade<\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Less than a year after playing college baseball at Florida State, Smith earned a spot in the Opening Day lineup with a stellar spring training performance and took over right field. The former career third baseman transitioned to a completely different position in the outfield at the major league level.<\/p>\n<p>It could\u2019ve been an experiment, and it was understandable if he wasn\u2019t able to make the switch effectively, but none of that was the case. Smith quickly made right field at Daikin Park his new home. The transition was really smooth. This came as a pleasant surprise to the Astros, as Smith continued to make great plays in right field and looked like an effective major league outfielder with a strong arm and big frame that could cover a lot of ground.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Though it didn\u2019t always look natural early, Smith became reliable in right field. All that impressive work has now resulted in a Gold Glove nomination for the rookie in his first year at a new position. Smith ranked first in zone rating at .900 and tied third for assists (6) among AL right fielders. He was also second in fielding percentage at .992.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>ESPN will announce the winners on Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. CST.<\/p>\n<h3>Astros&#8217; Defense was a Bright Spot<\/h3>\n<p>Houston relied on three-time Gold Glover <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=walkech02,walker008chr&amp;search=Christian+Walker&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christian Walker<\/a> at first base this season. While he wasn\u2019t nominated, it was clear the Astros had the best defensive first baseman in the game, capable of snagging anything thrown his way.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When Carlos Correa was traded back to the Astros, he made the switch to third base to replace the injured <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/paredis01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaac Paredes<\/a>. He made the move look seamless and became an elite defender at the hot corner, making tough catches and using that rocket arm of his across the infield.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=meyerja02,meyers003jak&amp;search=Jake+Meyers&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jake Meyers<\/a> missed 58 games this season, his glove in center field has been terrific for the Astros. Meyers has made some great catches and covered ground with ease. Many believe he will win a Gold Glove soon.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the Astros added utility man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/u\/uriasra01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ram\u00f3n Ur\u00edas<\/a> at the trade deadline from the Baltimore Orioles, who won a Gold Glove in 2022 at third base. Ur\u00edas made an instant defensive impact all over the infield and has made it arguably the most versatile defense in baseball. Outfielder <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/09\/18\/jesus-sanchez-more-important-astros-after-alvarez-injury\/\" target=\"_self\">Jes\u00fas S\u00e1nchez<\/a>\u00a0also showed flashes of brilliance with some leaping catches at the wall to rob a couple of home runs.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Overall, the Astros ranked sixth in baseball in defensive efficiency and eighth in fielding percentage, according to <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/leagues\/majors\/2025-standard-fielding.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Baseball Reference<\/a>. That is good for third in the American League for both categories.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: \u00a9 Erik Williams-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although the Houston Astros\u2019 2025 season did not go as planned, missing the postseason for the first time since 2016, their defense remained elite all year. The Astros have long been one of baseball\u2019s best defensive teams in the league during their golden era run, collecting multiple Gold Gloves in the process. Carlos Correa notably [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5612,"featured_media":108739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1071,35],"tags":[28631,777],"class_list":["post-108717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astros","category-mlb","category-news","tag-cam-smith","tag-mauricio-dubon"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108717"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108741,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108717\/revisions\/108741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}