Guardians Flash the Leather with 5 Gold Glove Finalists

(Photo via news5cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, OH

In a season where the Cleveland Guardians were looking to rebuild, there was quite a bit of success. It started with all the 17 newcomers who made their MLB debuts. Steven Kwan, Oscar Gonzalez, and many more shined in the early stages of their careers. The Guardians then defied all odds, made it to the playoffs, and took the New York Yankees to 5 games in the ALDS. With all their success, perhaps the most impressive may have been the defense.

Overall, as a team, the Cleveland Guardians were 6th in the MLB in outs above average. OAA is a range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a player or team has saved. Cleveland was also 3rd in the MLB in defensive runs saved. DRS quantifies a player’s entire defensive performance by attempting to measure how many runs a defensive player saved. With their team’s defensive success, the Guardians have 5 players who are finalists for a Gold Glove for the 2022 MLB season.

Shane Bieber (SP)

In 2022, Shane Bieber got off to a slow start. As the year went along, he came back to his normal Cy Young-caliber self. Bieber finished the season with a 13-8 record and a 2.88 ERA. Fielding wise, he finished with just 1 error on 32 chances this year. Bieber is up for his first Gold Glove this year.

Andrés Gimenez (2B)

The 2022 season was a year in which Andrés Gimenez really broke out. Offensively, Gimenez was 2nd on the team in batting average with a .297 average and was also effective with the long ball hitting a career-high 17 home runs. He also drove in 69 runs this season. It was his defense, however, that really made him shine. After being selected to his first All-Star game, he started an incredible double play early in the game for the American League. People were put on notice about the abilities of Gimenez from then on out. Defensively, Andrés was 2nd among all second basemen in DRS with 16, and 2nd in OAA with 12. Gimenez is up for his first Gold Glove this season.

Myles Straw (CF)/ Steven Kwan (LF)

The outfield for the Cleveland Guardians this season was anchored down by Steven Kwan and Myles Straw. Both players made incredible plays day in and day out. Myles Straw finished the year 2nd among center fielders with 17 DRS, while being 3rd in OAA with 13. He led the league in assists by a center fielder with 12, and putouts with 371. Straw is in play for his first Gold Glove award this year.

Steven Kwan had a phenomenal rookie season for the Cleveland Guardians. Kwan led the team in batting average with a .298 average. He left his mark in the postseason as well by highlighting it with a home run off Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees. Kwan’s defensive ability is not to be outshine though. Kwan finished the season 1st in DRS and OAA among left fielders. He had a whopping 21 defensive runs saved and 12 outs above replacement. Steven also finished with 7 outfield assists and 224 putouts this season. Kwan is looking for a Gold Glove in his first season in the league. He will also most likely be a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year. 

José Ramirez (3B)

On April 6th, 2022, the Cleveland Guardians locked in their franchise player for another 7 years. This could be debated as the time that the season was turned around. Bringing back a player like José Ramirez is sure to boost the morale of the team. In the 2022 season, Ramirez turned in another all-around great season. He finished with 29 homers and was 2nd in the league with 126 RBIs. He also played the hot corner as good as any other third baseman in the league. He finished the year with 2 DRS and 1 OAA. José is looking to add a Gold Glove to his already impressive résumé.