Daulton Varsho is making eye-popping catches almost every week in the outfield for the Toronto Blue Jays.
And after Varsho added another one to his highlight reel on Tuesday night, teammate Chris Bassitt had some high praise.
“If Varsho doesn’t win a Platinum Glove then we need to get rid of it. He’s the best defender in all of baseball and no one is even close,” Bassitt said. “You should expect him to make all those plays but he might be the only one in the world that can actually do it. I’m never going to take him and what he’s doing right now for granted, it’s crazy.”
Varsho’s latest highlight robbed Baltimore’s all-star shortstop Gunnar Henderson of extra bases, helping the Blue Jays hold on for a 5-2 win. With one out in the seventh, Henderson took Bassitt deep but Varsho ran 108 feet and leaped up to steal a hit away.
“His intial jump, definitely, the way he can close ground… and he’s not afraid of the wall,” manager John Schneider said when asked what separates Varsho from other outfielders. “To me it’s all three of those things… We’re spoiled, we’re used to him making that play. I thought it was a homer off the bat but he just never ceases to amaze us. Glad we have him.”
Entering Tuesday, Varsho led all outfielders with 21 defensive runs saved, four more than any other outfielder. But despite all of his heroics, Varsho has never won a Gold Glove award in his five MLB seasons.
This isn’t the first time Bassitt has stumped for Varsho to be recognized for his defence. After the 2023 Gold Glove winners were announced, Bassitt wrote on social media that it was “pure stupidity” that Varsho wasn’t included.
