Mets Deserved More Gold Glove Recognition

Last week Major League Baseball announced the finalists for the 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Winners are set to be announced on Nov. 1 but were the rightful winners even properly nominated?

Three finalists were named to each position in the NL and AL, including a new utility spot.

The Mets had one finalist, catcher Tomas Nido. But some players like Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and Luis Gullorme were snubbed from the final nominations.

Let’s look if these Mets deserve consideration.

Catcher
Finalists
J.T. Realmuto, PHI
Travis d’Arnaud, ATL
Tomas Nido, NYM

This award should really go to Realmuto. The Phillies catcher played more games than anyone else at the position and followed it up by throwing out 30 of 68 potential base stealers. He’s not the best pitch framer (both d’Arnaud and Nido are better) but he’s still above average in called strike rate.

Second Base
Finalists
Jake Cronenworth, SD
Tommy Edman, STL
Brendan Rodgers, COL

Edman is the reigning gold glover at second base. Based on the reputation this isn’t terrible but the fact is Edman played more innings at shortstop this season than the one he was even nominated for. Cronenworth was one of the most active second basemen in the league with 205 putouts and 308 assists, numbers both topped by Rodgers. Rodgers led all second basemen with 22 defensive runs saved.

McNeil’s case: McNeil split time between second base and the outfield this season. In 844.0 innings he had a .992 fielding percentage, seven outs above average, and three DRS. On Fangraphs’ defensive leaderboard he ranks as the best defensive second basemen in the NL and sixth-best in baseball.

Shortstop
Finalists
Ha-Seong Kim, SD
Miguel Rojas, MIA
Dansby Swanson, ATL

What the heck happened here? Neither Kim nor Rojas had a better defensive season than Lindor or Chicago’s Nico Hoerner. Swanson should win this award but Lindor not being here based on pedigree and the last season is an awful miss.

Lindor’s case: Lindor had the second-most outs above average among shortstops this season with 13. His DRS metric was -3, likely due to the way in which the Mets shift. Still his UZR was seventh-best in baseball and fourth-best in the NL. Only Swanson had more innings played at the position.

Center Field
Finalists
Trent Grisham, SD
Victor Robles, WSH
Alek Thomas, ARI

Congratulations to Grisham on his Gold Glove season. What he lacks at the plate (except against the Mets in the Wild Card) he makes up with for his outstanding range in center. Robles and Thomas are each fine choices but the real question is where Atlanta’s Michael Harris is on this list.

Nimmo’s case: The story of Nimmo’s improved defense has been well documented as he’s shifted his starting point to deeper and deeper in the outfield. He had a good season per outs above average (+6) but is still not close to winning the award. Think of it this way, it brings the Mets price down on re-signing him.

Utility
Finalists
Brendan Donavan, STL
Tommy Edman, STL,
Daulton Varsho, ARI

TWO OF THESE PLAYERS ARE NOMINATED AT A DIFFERENT POSITION! Why do you have a utility award if not to nominate utility players? Donavan certainly counts playing at least 16 games at four positions but the other two should be solely nominated for their own main position.

Guillorme’s case: The slick-fielding Mets infielder can play across the diamond and ranks highly among every defensive metric. Clearly, one of Buck Showalter’s favorite players because of his defensive versatility speaks to Guillorme’s ability. Guillorme had a positive OAA at three positions (SS, 3B, 2B). This award was meant for him.

 

Are the rightful winners nominated for some positions? Of course. Are the nominations perfect? Absolutely not. The Mets don’t deserve to have winners at all these positions but some recognition would’ve been nice.