All season, as Mets star Francisco Lindor showed game after game that he was perhaps the best defensive shortstop in the National League, him being one of three finalists for the 2024 Gold Glove award was viewed as fait accompli.
The only question was whether Lindor would edge out the Cubs’ Dansby Swanson for the hardware.
But when Rawlings announced all of its Gold Glove finalists on Tuesday, Lindor’s name was absent from the National League shortstops.
The three finalists are Swanson, Ezequiel Tovar of the Rockies, and Masyn Winn of the Cardinals.
Going by Outs Above Average and range via Baseball Savant, which is arguably the best way to measure defensive value, here’s how Lindor and the three finalists stacked up:
Swanson: 18 OAA, 99th percentile
Lindor: 16 OAA, 98th percentile
Tovar: 15 OAA, 98th percentile
Winn: 3 OAA, 83rd percentile
Baseball Savant also measures arm strength, which is a small factor here. But Swanson and Lindor are both below average in that regard — and it did not stop Swanson from being nominated.
Lindor won two Gold Gloves while with Cleveland (in 2016 and 2019) but has not yet won one as a Met.
Not winning one is understandable given the competition, but Lindor not being nominated this year — and Winn being one of the finalists — defies logic.
“I thought that – let me see how I can put this one… I had a good defensive year, but I guess there’s other players that had a better defensive year than me,” Lindor said after taking a long pause to think about his answer. “At the end of the day I’m trying to win a World Series. Hopefully next year I get a chance at [a Gold Glove].”
Luis Severino and three Yankees nominated
Severino is a finalist for a Gold Glove for NL pitchers, along with Zack Wheeler of the Phillies and Chris Sale of the Braves.
For the Yankees, Anthony Volpe is a finalist for the American League at shortstop, with Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals and Brayan Rocchio of the Guardians the other nominees.
Alex Verdugo is a finalist in left field, along with Colton Cowser of the Orioles and Steven Kwan of the Guardians.
Somehow, Juan Soto (who was worth -4 OAA) was nominated in right field. He’ll compete with Wilyer Abreu of the Red Sox and Jo Adell of the Angels for the award.
