Myles Straw earned his place on the Toronto Blue Jays thanks to his 2025 season.
Straw was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 12th round of the 2015 draft. He made his big league debut in 2018, and became a regular with the team in 2021. However, he was traded to the Cleveland Guardians partway through that season, where he spent parts of four seasons. In 2022, Straw won the American League’s Gold Glove for centre fielders.
Expectations weren’t high for Straw, as he’s always been a light hitting outfielder who has a strong glove. That said, he had one of his best seasons with the bat, slashing .262/.313/.367 with four home runs in 299 plate appearances, matching his career-best in the home run category. His 91 wRC+ last season was the second-best of his career (minimum 200 plate appearances), slightly behind his 98 wRC+ in 2021.
Where Straw excelled in 2025 was with the Glove. Used as the defensive replacement in centre field, Straw posted a spectacular 15 Defensive Runs Saved, 7 Outs Above, and 7 Fielding Run Value in just 532.1 innings at the position. Add an additional 4 DRS, 2 OAA, and 2 FRV in 121 innings in left field, and it was a pretty successful season for the Blue Jays’ fifth outfielder.
Realistically, Straw should’ve been nominated for a Gold Glove last season. Among outfielders with 500 or more innings in the outfield, Straw’s 18 DRS ranked third, his 9 and 9 FRV both ranked for 10th. The thing is, every player around him played more than 1,000 innings in the outfield, while Straw had just under 700.
We’ll see how much playing time the 31-year-old receives in 2026.