Red Sox have Gold Glove Award finalists at four positions

The Boston Red Sox have four players on the ballot for the Gold Glove Award at their respective positions. Who has a shot at taking home the hardware?

Defense is an aspect of baseball that often goes overlooked but the Boston Red Sox are one team that recognizes the value of a slick glove. Boston led the majors with 70 defensive runs saved, a 26.9 UZR and 37.9 defensive runs above average (DEF).

A team can’t field a defensive wizard at every position and the Red Sox were no different. A look at a more traditional statistic, such as fielding percentage, would lead you to believe that Boston was well below-average defensively. Clearly that’s not the case. The team’s overall percentage is simply dragged down by abysmal defense at a third base position that ranked dead last in the majors with a .924 fielding percentage.

The hot corner aside, Boston has a number of talented defensive players, four of whom were nominated as finalists for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award at their respective positions.

First baseman Mitch Moreland, second baseman Dustin Pedroia, right fielder Mookie Betts and left-handed pitcher Chris Sale are all named American League finalists for the honor awarded to the best defensive player at their position.

Both leagues nominated three players at each position to appear on the finalists ballot. The winners will be announced on November 7 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Will any of these Red Sox players take home a Gold Glove? Let’s analyze their chances against the competition.