We’re still in the midst of figuring out which postseason teams will move on to fight for a World Series title. However, it’s that time of year when we start getting clarity on which players are finalists for individual awards. First up are the American League and National League Gold Glove finalists, and both the Mets and Yankees are represented.
Here’s a quick rundown of who is in the running to capture some hardware, along with what their competition looks like.
Pitcher
Jameson Taillon is the lone New York pitcher to be a Gold Glove finalist in 2022. His two Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) ranked fifth in the AL this past season, according to FanGraphs. Other AL finalists include Jose Berrios of the Toronto Blue Jays and Shane Bieber (not Justin) of the Cleveland Guardians.
It’s worth noting that Taillon’s Yankee teammate, Luis Severino, tied for first on the AL pitcher DRS leaderboard with four. The other DRS leaders he was tied with were Zack Greinke and Yusei Kikuchi.
Catcher
Both squads have a Gold Glove finalist at catcher on their hands. Tomas Nido gets the nod for the Amazins, as well as 2022 All-Star Jose Trevino for the Yankees.
This past season included a career-high 98 games played for Nido. Part of that was due to James McCann being on the injured list, and another part of it was because McCann didn’t do much at the plate as a hitter. Nido has always been a glove-first catcher, and it showed in his expanded playing time. His 8 DRS ranked third in the NL.
As for Trevino, his 21 DRS and 29.1 Defensive Rating not only led American League catchers, but those marks led all of baseball. Setting up behind the plate is his strong suit, but Trevino did also add a 91 wRC+ in 353 plate appearances, which is a single-season career-high mark. That helped power a 3.7 fWAR, which ranked fifth among AL catchers. Sean Murphy of the Oakland Athletics and Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners are also finalists.
First Base
Anthony Rizzo has been here before, just not with the Yankees…until now. The first baseman has won four Gold Gloves so far during his MLB career, all of which came with the Chicago Cubs. This includes a stretch of three straight wins from 2018-20.
Advanced defensive metrics weren’t kind to the veteran this year. FanGraphs pinned him for -3 DRS and he landed in just the 23rd percentile for Statcast’s Outs Above Average (OAA) metric. However, anyone who has watched the Yankees at length this year can attest to the work Rizzo does around the bag.
The Yankees also accrued the most DRS of any team in baseball, and it wasn’t close. New York posted 129 DRS in 2022. The next closest team was the Los Angeles Dodgers at 84. You can’t tell me he didn’t have a part of that in some way.
Rizzo is going up against AL Batting Champion Luis Arraez of the Minnesota Twins and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Left Field
Andrew Benintendi played just 33 games with the Yankees before hitting the injured list, but his good defense followed him from Kansas City to the Bronx. He registered 2 DRS and placed ninth overall in MLB with a 0 OAA. He’s up against Brandon Marsh of the Los Angeles Angels (who actually plays for the Phillies now) and Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians.
Kwan, a rookie, looks to be the favorite. His 12 OAA led all left fielders in 2022, with Marsh coming in second with eight.
Utility
DJ LeMahieu is a three-time Gold Glove winner. Like Rizzo, he did all of his work while with his previous team in the National League. For LeMahieu, it was at second base for the Colorado Rockies. In 2022, LeMahieu spent at least 250 innings at first base, second base, and third base.
He produced 9 DRS overall, with the vast majority of that coming at third base. He compiled 8 DRS in just 385.2 innings. The infielder’s OAA also ranked in the 96th percentile this season. The other AL Utility Fielder finalists include Whit Merrifield of the Royals and Blue Jays, as well as Luis Rengifo of the Los Angeles Angels.
Gold Glove Finalist notes
- Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who was a finalist for NL shortstops in 2021, didn’t make the cut this year. The NL finalists are Ha-Seong Kim, Miguel Rojas, and Dansby Swanson.
- The Mets last had a Gold Glove winner in 2014 when Juan Lagares took home the hardware for his glovework in center field. Joey Gallo won a Gold Glove last year, but the last Yankee to win one while being on the squad all year was Brett Gardner in 2016.
- Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson tied for the AL lead at his position with 7 OAA but didn’t make the cut. The three finalists include Matt Chapman, Ramón Urías, and José Ramírez.
- Nido, Trevino, and Taillon are all vying for their first Gold Glove Award this winter.
- Andrés Giménez, who was sent to Cleveland as part of the deal that netted the Mets Lindor and Carlos Carrasco, is an AL finalist at second base.
- Nolan Areando is looking to win his 10th straight Gold Glove. Entering 2022, he never finished a year in the big leagues without earning the honor.
- Rawlings added a Utility Fielder category this year. Mets infielder Luis Guillorme was in the 91st percentile of OAA, yet wasn’t a finalist. Those include Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, and Daulton Varsho.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
