On October 15, Rawlings confirmed the finalists for the 2024 Gold Glove Awards. The awards are given to the best defensive players at their respective positions, along with one utility Gold Glove winner in each league, who played at multiple spots. Defensive prowess can be somewhat subjective, especially if voters priortize one component of the craft over the other. With that said, here’s a look at the finalists, plus some thoughts on players who should have made the cut.
Finalists
Here are the finalists for the 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, thanks to the equipment manufacturer:
American League
- P: Griffin Canning (Los Angeles Angels), Seth Lugo (Kansas City Royals), Cole Ragans (Kansas City Royals)
- C: Freddy Fermin (Kansas City Royals), Cal Raleigh (Seattle Mariners), Jake Rogers (Detroit Tigers)
- 1B: Nathaniel Lowe (Texas Rangers), Ryan Mountcastle (Baltimore Orioles), Carlos Santana (Minnesota Twins)
- 2B: Andres Gimenez (Cleveland Guardians), Nicky Lopez (Chicago White Sox), Marcus Semien (Texas Rangers)
- 3B: Alex Bregman (Houston Astros), Ernie Clement (Toronto Blue Jays), Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Guardians)
- SS: Brayan Rocchio (Cleveland Guardians), Anthony Volpe (New York Yankees), Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals)
- LF: Colton Cowser (Baltimore Orioles), Steven Kwan (Cleveland Guardians), Alex Verdugo (New York Yankees)
- CF: Jarren Duran (Boston Red Sox), Jake Meyers (Houston Astros), Daulton Varsho (Toronto Blue Jays)
- RF: Wilyer Abreu (Boston Red Sox), Jo Adell (Los Angeles Angels), Juan Soto (New York Yankees)
- Utility: Willi Castro (Minnesota Twins), Mauricio Dubon (Houston Astros), Dylan Moore (Seattle Mariners)
The Royals have four finalists, headlined by two pitchers and Bobby Witt Jr. Freddy Fermin, who played 91 games at catcher, sharing the position with Salvador Perez, posted a +10 Blocks Above Average per Statcast and posted a .993 Fielding%.
Cleveland also had four finalists, including two-time Gold Glove winners Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan.
National League
- P: Chris Sale (Atlanta Braves), Luis Severino (New York Mets), Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia Phillies)
- C: Patrick Bailey (San Francisco Giants), Gabriel Moreno (Arizona Diamondbacks), Will Smith (Los Angeles Dodgers)
- 1B: Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies), Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves), Christian Walker (Arizona Diamondbacks)
- 2B: Ketel Marte (Arizona Diamondbacks), Bryson Stott (Philadelphia Phillies), Brice Turang (Milwaukee Brewers)
- 3B: Nolan Arenado (St. Louis Cardinals), Matt Chapman (San Francisco Giants), Ryan McMahon (Colorado Rockies)
- SS: Dansby Swanson (Chicago Cubs), Ezequiel Tovar (Colorado Rockies), Masyn Winn (St. Louis Cardinals)
- LF: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (Arizona Diamondbacks), Brandon Marsh (Philadelphia Phillies), Ian Happ (Chicago Cubs)
- CF: Brenton Doyle (Colorado Rockies), Blake Perkins (Milwaukee Brewers), Jacob Young (Washington Nationals)
- RF: Sal Frelick (Milwaukee Brewers), Jake McCarthy (Arizona Diamondbacks), Mike Yastrzemski (San Francisco Giants)
- Utility: Brendan Donovan (St. Louis Cardinals), Enrique Hernandez (Los Angeles Dodgers), Jared Triolo (Pittsburgh Pirates)
The Phillies have four players eligible, including 2023 Gold Glove winner Zack Wheeler. Meanwhile at third base, Nolan Arenado is a finalist after the 10-time winner didn’t make the top three in 2023. Last year was the first that Arenado didn’t win a Gold Glove.
What to Make of Finalists
Given the subjective nature of these votes — every team’s manager and up to six coaches on each team’s staff vote, which makes up the majority of the selection process — there will be misses. However, there are some that with head-scratching, to say the least.
Per Statcast, the top four players in the league in Outs Above Average — a range-based metric which weighs play difficulty — were Andres Gimenez (+20), Jacob Young (+20), Marcus Semien (+19), and Dansby Swanson (+18). All four are listed as finalists. Brenton Doyle, tied for fifth (+16), is also here.
Those were easy selections. All five have great range at their respective positions, particularly Doyle and Young, two plus runners. However, Doyle was tied for fifth in the metric with Francisco Lindor (+16), who wasn’t a finalist. Lindor was a Gold Glove finalist in 2023.
Lindor was expectional in the field, particularly when moving to his right. He posted a +17 OAA when a play to his right was made by the Mets shortstop. The 30-year-old has the total package in terms of what teams want from a shortstop: range, instincts, and a strong arm.
Now, that’s not to say the actual finalists were bad. Masyn Winn has arguably the strong arm at shortstop in the Majors and is a plus runner. Ezequiel Tovar posted a +15 OAA at short this season.
While OAA isn’t a be-all, end-all, especially since it is a range-based metric, it is very helpful to see how effective one is in terms of covering ground at their respective position. It is, however, not a true factor in the equation, as Rawlings partnered with SABR to come up with numbers to weigh when considering Gold Glove Finalists.
Lindor, though, wasn’t the only notable snub per Outs Above Average.
Joey Ortiz, tied for first among third basemen in OAA (+11), also didn’t make the cut. Ortiz was part of a strong Brewers infield that include Gold Glove finalist Brice Turang and Willy Adames, another savvy defender. Ortiz may be the Brewers’ everyday shortstop, should Adames depart in free agency.
Moving towards the outfield, Juan Soto makes the cut in right field despite a -4 Outs Above Average. This is an interesting one, as Soto’s never been regarded as a great defender in the outfield. He doesn’t have great speed, nor range. However, his arm is strong out in right field, possibly why he made it as a finalist.
Wilyer Abreu, tied with Sal Frelick for the second-best OAA among right fielders (+7), is an AL finalist in right field. Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca was tops in the Majors, at +8.
When will the winners be revealed?
The winners be revealed on November 3, 2024, on ESPN. ESPN will hold a one-hour special at 8:30 PM ET that will unveil the winners.