2023 Silver Sluggers: Rangers duo add more awards, Betts earns 6th

Major League Baseball announced its 2023 Silver Slugger winners Thursday, honoring the best offensive players at each position in both leagues.

The Atlanta Braves were the big victors with three winners in the National League, while the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers each had two recipients on the American League side. This year's presentation also added a team Silver Slugger award to honor the best overall offense in each circuit.

Here's the complete list of winners.

American League

Catcher

Winner: Adley Rutschman, Orioles (1st)

Rutschman earned this honor for the first time in only his second big-league season after leading AL catchers in RBIs, OBP, wRC+, runs scored (84), and walks (92), among other categories. The switch-hitter joins Mickey Tettleton in 1992 as the only Orioles catchers to win a Silver Slugger.

Runners-up: Salvador Perez (KC), Cal Raleigh (SEA)

First base

Winner: Yandy Díaz, Rays (1st)

Díaz posted career highs in virtually every offensive category and clinched this award by winning the AL batting title with a .330 average. The 32-year-old is just the fourth Rays player to win a Silver Slugger at any position, joining Carlos Peña (first base in 2007), Evan Longoria (third base in 2009), and Carl Crawford (outfield in 2010).

Runners-up: Triston Casas (BOS), Nathaniel Lowe (TEX), Spencer Torkelson (DET)

Second base

Winner: Marcus Semien, Rangers (2nd)

Semien became the fifth leadoff hitter to record a 100-RBI season and led the AL in hits and runs scored en route to his second Silver Slugger in three seasons. He's the third Rangers second baseman to win the award, joining Alfonso Soriano and Julio Franco.

Runners-up: Brandon Drury (LAA), Gleyber Torres (NYY)

Third base

Winner: Rafael Devers, Red Sox (2nd)

Devers led AL third basemen in homers, RBIs, and slugging (.500) en route to his second Silver Slugger in three seasons. He and Wade Boggs are the only Red Sox third basemen to win this award multiple times.

Runners-up: Alex Bregman (HOU), Isaac Paredes (TB), José Ramírez (CLE)

Shortstop

Winner: Corey Seager, Rangers (3rd)

Despite playing in only 119 games due to injuries, Seager led the AL in doubles, placed second in extra-base hits, and was top four in all four slash stats. This is his third career Silver Slugger and first since 2017. He's now one of 10 shortstops to win the award at least three times and one of only two to claim it in both leagues, alongside this year's NL winner, Francisco Lindor.

Runners-up: J.P. Crawford (SEA) Bobby Witt Jr. (KC)

Outfield

Winners: Luis Robert Jr., White Sox (1st); Julio Rodríguez, Mariners (2nd); Kyle Tucker, Astros (1st)

Robert took home his first career Silver Slugger after finishing third in the AL in homers, fifth in slugging (.542), and eighth in fWAR (5.0). This was his first time playing more than 100 games.

Rodríguez followed up his stellar rookie year by putting up a 30-30 season as a sophomore while also scoring 100 runs for the first time. He becomes the seventh Mariners player to win multiple Silver Sluggers.

Tucker, the AL RBI leader, put up the highest OPS among Junior Circuit outfielders. He ranked top 10 in most offensive categories on his league's leaderboards and finished one home run shy of a 30-30 campaign.

Runners-up: Randy Arozarena (TB), Adolis García (TEX), Aaron Judge (NYY), Anthony Santander (BAL)

Designated Hitter

Winner: Shohei Ohtani, Angels (2nd)

Ohtani outdid himself once again, leading the AL in homers, OBP (.412), slugging (.654), and OPS despite missing most of September due to an elbow injury. The two-way superstar is the sixth player to win multiple Silver Sluggers as a DH.

Runner-up: Yordan Alvarez (HOU)

Utility

Winner: Gunnar Henderson, Orioles (1st)

Henderson, a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year, is the 15th rookie to claim a Silver Slugger at any position. Along with Rutschman, he gives the Orioles multiple Silver Slugger winners for the first time since they had three in 2013.

Runners-up: Brandon Drury (LAA), Isaac Paredes (TB), Whit Merrifield (TOR)

Team

Winner: Texas Rangers

Texas' offense led AL teams in average, OBP, and slugging and finished tied for the Junior Circuit lead in home runs en route to the franchise's first championship.

Runners-up: Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays

National League

Catcher

Winner: William Contreras, Brewers (1st)

Contreras, the first Brewers catcher to win the award, led NL backstops in the slash categories, RBIs, wRC+, and fWAR (5.4), and was second at his position in home runs. He's the fourth different NL catcher to earn the Silver Slugger in the last four seasons.

Runners-up: Sean Murphy (ATL), J.T. Realmuto (PHI), Will Smith (LAD)

First base

Winner: Matt Olson, Braves (1st)

Olson easily led the majors in both home runs and RBIs while also pacing the NL in slugging during a career-best offensive season. His win marks only the second time since 2015 that an NL first baseman other than Paul Goldschmidt or Freddie Freeman won the award.

Runners-up: Pete Alonso (NYM), Freddie Freeman (LAD)

Second base

Winner: Luis Arraez, Marlins (2nd)

It's another old-school win for Arraez, who won last year's AL utility Silver Slugger while with the Twins. After flirting with .400 for much of the first half, he finished with a .354 average, which made him just the second player to definitively win a batting title in both leagues. He also recorded 200 hits for the first time.

Runners-up: Ozzie Albies (ATL), Ketel Marte (ARI)

Third base

Winner: Austin Riley, Braves (2nd)

Riley finished 2023 as the only NL third baseman with a slugging percentage above .500 and led his peers at the hot corner in most categories. He joins Hall of Famer Chipper Jones as the only Braves third basemen to win this award twice.

Runners-up: Nolan Arenado (STL), Manny Machado (SD), Max Muncy (LAD)

Shortstop

Winner: Francisco Lindor, Mets (3rd)

Lindor earned his third Silver Slugger, and first since 2018, by putting up the sixth 30-30 season by a shortstop and scoring over 100 runs. He and this year's AL winner, Corey Seager, are the only shortstops to win this honor in both leagues, and he's one of 10 to win three times at the position.

Runners-up: Xander Bogaerts (SD), Dansby Swanson (CHC), Trea Turner (PHI)

Outfield

Winners: Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves (3rd); Mookie Betts, Dodgers (6th); Juan Soto, Padres (4th)

Acuña earned his third career Silver Slugger in dominating fashion. The 25-year-old led the NL in hits (217), runs (149), steals (73), OBP (.416), OPS+ (168), and total bases (383) while putting up the first 40-70 season in MLB history and lowering his strikeout rate to a career-best 11.4%. He became the first player since Ty Cobb in 1911 to have at least 70 steals and 75 extra-base hits.

Betts, who was also nominated in the utility category, is now the 10th outfielder to win at least six Silver Sluggers. His 80 extra-base hits ranked third in the NL, and he posted his highest average and OPS since his MVP campaign in 2018.

Soto quietly hit a career-high 32 homers while leading the majors in walks for a third straight season. He's the first NL outfielder to earn four straight Silver Sluggers since Andrew McCutchen and also tied Mike Trout for the most before his age-25 season, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

Runners-up: Cody Bellinger (CHC), Corbin Carroll (ARI), Kyle Schwarber (PHI), Seiya Suzuki (CHC)

Designated Hitter

Winner: Bryce Harper, Phillies (3rd)

Harper posted the highest wRC+ and OBP among primary NL designated hitters despite playing in only 126 games. This is the 31-year-old's third career Silver Slugger and first as a DH.

Runners-up: J.D. Martinez (LAD), Marcell Ozuna (ATL), Jorge Soler (MIA)

Utility

Winner: Cody Bellinger, Cubs (2nd)

Bellinger put up his best offensive numbers since his MVP-winning campaign in 2019 and was rewarded with his second career Silver Slugger. He was also nominated as an outfielder but claimed the utility honor after moving between center field and first base for much of the season.

Runners-up: Mookie Betts (LAD), Ha-Seong Kim (SD), Spencer Steer (CIN)

Team

Winner: Atlanta Braves

The Braves' offense was historically dominant during the regular season. They tied the single-season record for home runs, scored 947 total runs, and became the first team ever to slug above .500. Five of their players crushed at least 30 homers.

Runners-up: Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres