Red Sox have Gold Glove Award finalists at four positions

First Base

Mitch Moreland won the award in 2016 when he was with the Texas Rangers and has a solid chance to repeat as a Gold Glove winner.

Part of what makes Moreland so good is his awareness on the field and his fearlessness to track down a pop-up anywhere near his territory.

This should be a tight race between Moreland and Cleveland Indians first baseman Carlos Santana, both of whom tied for the league lead at their position with 10 defensive runs saved. They each committed five errors and had nearly identical fielding percentages.

Santana’s 4.8 UZR gives him a slight edge over Moreland (4.0), yet Moreland has an advantage with 2.4 Range Runs (RngR). Santana led the league among first baseman with 0.6 double play runs (DPR), while Moreland was below average in that category.

Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer‘s inclusion on the ballot must be out of force of habit. The three-time Gold Glove winner is a great defensive player who happens to have had a poor season in the field. His -7 defensive runs saved put him near the bottom of the league and he posted a below-average -0.3 UZR. He only committed four errors, giving him the best fielding percentage among this trio at .997, yet Hosmer wasn’t close in any of the advanced metrics. If he wins the award it will be based on reputation or voters clinging to the old-school approach who refuse to accept modern metrics.

Moreland’s defensive stats are close enough to Santana’s that his superior track record may carry him to the award, but Santana probably deserves it more based on this year’s production by a narrow margin.

Predicted Winner: Santana

Second Base

Four-time Gold Glove winner Dustin Pedroia is another candidate whose inclusion seems to be based more on reputation than production. Lack of playing time should remove him from consideration in a season where injuries limited him to 105 games, while the 34-year old may be starting to lose a step on the field.

You wouldn’t necessarily know it from watching the highlight reels, as Pedroia is still more than capable of making some fantastic plays.

Yet the numbers show that he’s merely good, no longer elite, in the field.

Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler is the heavy favorite to take home the award for the second consecutive year. His six defensive runs saved ranked second in the league at the position. Pedroia was below-average with -2 DRS, while Minnesota’s Brian Dozier was even worse at -4 DRS.

Kinsler and Pedroia tied for the league-lead at the position with 6.1 UZR. Kinsler led with 8.1 DEF, with Pedroia right behind him at 7.5 DEF.

The one significant advantage that Pedroia has is in fielding percentage. Kinsler committed 10 errors, tied for sixth most in the league at the position. Pedroia only made two errors, albeit with far less playing time. Yet Pedroia’s .995 fielding percentage was the best in the league among second baseman who started at least 20 games at the position. Dozier was next with a .993 fielding percentage, while Kinsler was far behind at .983 this season.

Pedroia and Kinsler are far ahead of Dozier in every advanced defensive metric. Kinsler has a comfortable edge on Pedroia in most of those categories and given the amount of time Pedroia missed, the Tigers second baseman should win in a landslide.

Predicted Winner: Kinsler

Right Field

Don’t even bother to tally the votes. Just hand the award to Mookie Betts right now. Boston’s right fielder was second in the majors at any position with 31 defensive runs saved. The next best right fielder in that category? That would be New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge… with 9 DRS.

How does Betts save so many runs? With plays like this.

Betts also owns a ridiculous advantage with a 20.5 UZR that leads the majors at any position. Los Angles Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun is second at the position with 8.5 UZR and Judge is third with 6.1 UZR.

Calhoun has an edge with 10 outfield assists compared to only eight four Betts. Although, in fairness, most opposing players have learned by now not to run on Mookie. When they try, bad things happen.

The five errors Betts made were one more than Calhoun, but since he also had far more chances to make a play his .987 fielding percentage is only a fraction of a point behind Calhoun’s.

MLB may be pushing to make Judge the next face of baseball but smashing home runs has nothing to do with defensive awards. Judge and Calhoun are both great outfielders but Betts is in his own stratosphere. If he doesn’t win his second consecutive Gold Glove then there needs to be a federal investigation into one of the biggest robberies in baseball history.

Predicted Winner: Betts

Pitcher

If strikeouts counted toward playing great defense then Chris Sale would run away with the Gold Glove for pitchers. After all, what better defense is there than to avoid having the ball put in play?

Sale led the majors with 308 strikeouts and may have broken Pedro Martinez‘ single-season franchise record if the Red Sox hadn’t skipped his final regular season start. When Sale is on the mound the Red Sox position players almost don’t need to bother bringing their gloves with them on the field.

Red Sox fans never tire of watching Sale punch out opposing batters but voters aren’t likely to take that attribute into consideration when handing out Gold Gloves.

Pitchers have far fewer opportunities to show off their defensive skills than position players do. Not only because starters only play once every five games but a come-backer to the mound is less common than a ground ball to the shortstop or a fly ball to center. Occasionally you’ll see a pitcher make a great stab on a ball heading straight for them, mostly out of self defense. Generally a pitcher is primarily tasked with covering first base on a ground ball to the right side.

Tampa Bay Rays starter Alex Cobb led the nominated trio with 6 DRS, while Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman had 5 DRS. Sale’s 2 DRS was a solid mark but still well behind the competition.

Stroman led AL pitchers with 37 assists and 9 double plays turned. He was solid in covering first base with 9 putouts and only committed one error. Cobb led the nominated candidates at the position with 15 putouts and his 26 assists were fourth in the league among pitchers. He also made three errors, giving him the lowest fielding percentage in this group.

Next: Five Red Sox questions for 2018

Sale didn’t commit an error this season but was well behind in the other categories. That’s what happens when you don’t allow the ball to be put in play. Sale’s penchant for strikeouts may actually work against him in this race.

Predicted Winner: Stroman