KC Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. and Seth Lugo win AL Gold Glove Awards

The 2024 Gold Glove Award winners were announced on Sunday, November 3, and two Kansas City Royals' players have some new hardware to add to the trophy cabinet. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and pitcher Seth Lugo were named American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners at their respective positions, a first-time honor for both players.

Kansas City catcher Freddy Fermin and pitcher Cole Ragans also received AL Gold Glove Award nominations for their work this season. Witt Jr. and Lugo are the first Royals to win the Award since left fielder Andrew Benintendi and center fielder Michael A. Taylor in 2021.

Bobby Witt Jr. and Seth Lugo win first career Gold Glove Awards

Last offseason, the Royals signed Witt Jr. to an 11-year, $288.7 million contract extension, the largest deal in franchise history. One season later, the 24-year-old has his first AL Gold Glove win, is nominated for the Hank Aaron Award, and has been named as a finalist for the Player's Choice Award.

Witt Jr. recorded a .974 fielding percentage in 160 games started at shortstop this season, and posted 207 putouts and 361 assists in 583 defensive chances. The All-Star turned 78 double plays, and led all qualified AL shortstops in Outs Above Average (OAA) and Defensive Runs Presented (DRP), recording 16 and 12, respectively. According to FanGraphs, his Fielding Run Value (FRV) was an impressive 12.

This is the first Gold Glove nomination of Witt Jr.'s career, despite the Royal also leading all AL shortstops in OAA and DRP during the 2023 season.

Witt Jr. was up against the New York Yankees' Anthony Volpe and the Cleveland Guardians' Brayan Rocchio for this season's Award. He is just the second shortstop is Royals history to win a Gold Glove, with the first being Alcides Escobar in 2015.

Seth Lugo wins Gold Glove Award in first season with KC Royals

On December 14, 2023, the Royals signed veteran Seth Lugo to a three-year, $45 million contract out of free agency. The 34-year-old had transitioned from the bullpen to the starting rotation just one season prior with the San Diego Padres, and now, he has an AL Gold Glove Award to brag about.

In 2024, Lugo posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and didn't commit a single error. He led the AL in pitcher assists (29), and tied with the San Francisco Giants' Logan Webb for the most double plays started by a pitcher.

Lugo beat Griffin Canning — who played for the Los Angeles in 2024 before recently being traded to the Atlanta Braves — and Royals teammate Ragans for the AL Gold Glove Award this season. He is just the second pitcher in franchise history to win the Award after Bret Saberhagen in 1987.