Photos: Nick Wosika (left), Charles Brock (right)/Icon Sportswire

It’s the middle of January and most of us have probably broken or abandoned our New Year’s Resolutions by now. But the subject (and a lack of notable transactions recently) got me to thinking about defense-minded New Year’s Resolutions for 2025.

Here are a few that came to mind:

For Corbin Burnes: I will do my part to hold baserunners better

Corbin Burnes allowed an MLB-high 41 stolen bases last season, more than double his prior career high of 18. This was an issue regardless of whether Adley Rutschman or James McCann was catching him. Burnes’ average time to the plate was about .13 seconds slower in 2024 than it was in 2023 and he ranked in the bottom 10% of pitchers in that stat last season.

This season, he’ll primarily be throwing to one of MLB’s best defensive catchers, Gabriel Moreno of the Diamondbacks. Moreno won a Fielding Bible Award two years ago, largely on the strength of his limiting basestealing. Last year, Moreno allowed 40 stolen bases, one fewer than Burnes, catching almost 550 more innings than Burnes pitched.

For Aaron Judge: I won’t let my World Series blunder impact my return to form in right field

Aaron Judge had such a ridiculous season as a hitter that it overshadowed his poor defensive numbers in center field (-9 Runs Saved). Judge’s center field defense came back to get him in the World Series, when he dropped a fly ball during the Dodgers’ five-run rally in the fifth inning of the series-clinching Game 5.

With the Yankees signing Cody Bellinger and losing Juan Soto to the Mets, Judge will move back to right field, a position where he’s twice led the majors in Runs Saved and won a Fielding Bible Award, albeit as a younger player. Judge turns 33 in April and has dealt with injuries that have slowed his defensive game down. So, he’ll be challenged by more than just the stigma of that one miscue.

For Willy Adames: I’ll fix my forehand

Willy Adames went from being a reliable shortstop to a defensive issue last season. He totaled an MLB-worst -16 Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop.

Adames had the same number of touches on his forehand (balls he touched in the field) in 2024 as he had in 2023 but was successful in recording at least one out 20 fewer times. He went from being one of the best defenders on those balls to one of the worst.

Adames is now on a team that is hungry for good defense at the position. The Giants have gotten -38 Runs Saved at shortstop the last three seasons, the second-worst total in MLB.

For the Minnesota Twins: We’ll have a better backup plan

The Twins got exposed defensively when some of their regular players went down with injuries or didn’t play. Byron Buxton had 2 Runs Saved in the 94 games he played in center field. The Twins got -11 Runs Saved at the position when he didn’t play. There was a similar issue at shortstop with Carlos Correa and his injury replacements as well.

One problem for the Twins was that though they had good defensive versatility with Willi Castro and Austin Martin, those players didn’t perform at a high level relative to their peers. Castro totaled -18 Runs Saved split between five positions. Martin had -13 split between left and center field (we should note he was a rookie and was drafted as an infielder).

The Twins haven’t had a particularly active offseason but there’s still time to attack these issues if they choose.