Rangers super utility man rightfully left off Gold Glove despite defensive versatility

Not only is Josh Smith transitioning into a reliable offensive weapon for the Texas Rangers, he's perhaps one of the most underrated all-around the diamond utility player in Major League Baseball.

The 28-year-old LSU alum was once seen as one of the top prospects in baseball when he was one of the centerpieces in the trade that sent Joey Gallo to the New York Yankees in 2021. However, it was still unclear exactly what caliber of a big league player he'd be.

Now, after his fourth season with Texas, Smith is blossoming into a category of his own. A true super utility player that manages to find success at every spot on the field. Is it shocking that he is not even a consideration to win the American League's utility Gold Glove this season?

Smith's versatility is invaluable, but not Gold Glove-esque

The Rangers were one of the best defensive teams in MLB and received five finalists nominations for Gold Gloves to recognize their success. Smith was left off that list in favor of Toronto's Ernie Clement, Houston's Mauricio Dubon and Cleveland's Daniel Schneemann.

All three had legitimate cases to be named finalists for the utlity Gold Glove in 2025. Clement's 2.9 defensive WAR was tied for the best in MLB, Dubon played seven positions for the third straight year and his +20 OAA was tied for sixth-most in the league and Schneemann tallied +8 OAA and 8 DRS.

Smith reached that same feat as Dubon in 2025, playing 3,118 innings in the field at seven different defensive positions: 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF and RF. However, he played neither of those positions at an OAA above 0. In fact, his overall OAA was -5, which was close to the bottom 10 percentile.

Not to say it was all a failure for Smith on the defensive side. Throughout all those innings and positions, Smith only committed six errors (four at SS, one at 3B and one at 1B). He concluded a 1.000 fielding percentage at all of the outfield positions and a .995 percentage at first, which is a position he just started playing this year.

That bodes well for the Rangers moving forward, especially as new manager Skip Schumaker formulates the team for 2026. A player like Smith provides a team with ultimate flexibility and having a player you can pencil into the lineup everyday, anywhere on the field is invaluable.

Smith still has a bit of growth to go in the field to be considered a Gold Glove caliber player. That is tough for any player who is not consistently playing one position and can gain a rythmn day-after-day at a particular spot on the diamond.