{"id":846890,"date":"2026-11-06T06:51:33","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T06:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/846890\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T06:51:33","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T06:51:33","slug":"pair-of-red-sox-named-silver-slugger-awards-finalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/846890\/","title":{"rendered":"Pair of Red Sox named Silver Slugger Awards finalists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Right fielder Wilyer Abreu and first baseman Willson Contreras are finalists for Silver Slugger Awards<\/a>, Louisville Slugger announced Thursday.<\/p>\n

Abreu, who this week won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award<\/a> for exemplary defense in right, hit .248 with a .773 OPS, and a league-leading and career-high 38 doubles. His 148 hits, 24 home runs, 81 runs and 76 RBI were also new personal bests.<\/p>\n

Abreu ranked in the 76th MLB percentile in Batting Run Value, and 81st percentile or better in xwOBA (Expected Weighted On-Base Average), xSLG (Expected Slugging Percentage) and barrel rate.<\/p>\n

Among the 21 qualified American League outfielders, Abreu also stood atop the leaderboard with 66 extra-base hits, and ranked in the top third in games played, total bases, homers, runs and RBI.<\/p>\n

Contreras put together an excellent first season in Boston despite an eye-popping number of hits-by-pitch and several injuries. He ranked in the 99th MLB percentile in Batting Run Value, and 89th percentile or higher in xSLG, barrel rate, xwOBA and bat speed. Contreras led the Red Sox with a career-high 27 home runs, and hit .275 with a personal-best .901 OPS.<\/p>\n

Though Contreras ranked second among qualified AL first basemen with a .522 slugging percentage, and led the group in batting average and on-base percentage (.386), the award is likely to go to Pete Alonso, who led the AL with 43 home runs and 113 RBI in his first season with the Baltimore Orioles.<\/p>\n

One Red Sox was impacted by the structure of the Silver Sluggers, which award three winners in an overall \u2018Outfield\u2019 category rather than distinguishing between the three unique positions; Abreu\u2019s competition are Mariners\u2019 Randy Arozarena, Yankees\u2019 Cody Bellinger, Royals\u2019 Jac Caglianone, Guardians\u2019 Chase DeLauter, Tigers\u2019 Riley Greene, White Sox\u2019 Tristan Peters, Rays\u2019 Chandler Simpson and Angels\u2019 Mike Trout.<\/p>\n

If outfielders were awarded by position, Ceddanne Rafaela would have a strong case for center field this year; his .285 average was at least 38 points higher than any other qualified AL center fielder, and he led the group with 154 hits, 32 doubles and a .444 SLG.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four Red Sox players have won at least one Silver Slugger since the award\u2019s inception in 1980. The franchise also owns a piece of unique Silver Slugger history, as J.D. Martinez became the only player to win twice in a single season when he took home the Designated Hitter and Outfield Silver Slugger awards in 2018.<\/p>\n

But the last Red Sox player to win a Silver Slugger was Rafael Devers in 2023, and the club last had multiple victors in Devers and Xander Bogaerts in 2021. Multiple nods at least represents a step forward from 2025, when Alex Bregman was the lone Red Sox finalist, and didn\u2019t win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet while Abreu and Contreras were undoubtedly two of Boston\u2019s best bats, the team\u2019s overall offensive production was underwhelming. The Red Sox ranked fourth in OBP, fifth in average and sixth in hits, but were worse than league average in runs per game, home runs, runs scored, RBI and walks.<\/p>\n

Normally the top doubles team in the majors, aided by the confines of Fenway Park, the Red Sox finished second this year, after taking the top spot seven times in the last eight seasons. Their 285 doubles marked not only a plummet from last year\u2019s 324, but their first 162-game season with fewer than 300 since 2015.<\/p>\n

Silver Slugger winners will be announced on Nov. 17.<\/p>\n

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