The 2023 Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists were announced on Wednesday afternoon, with winners set to be unveiled on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
There are three finalists per league at each position, including the utility spot, which was awarded for the first time in 2022.
To determine the winners at the nine standard positions, the 30 MLB managers and up to six coaches from each team vote from a pool of players in their league, excluding players from their own team. These votes comprise 75% of the selection total, with the SABR Defensive Index counting for the other 25%.
For the utility position, Rawlings collaborated with SABR to create a specialized defensive formula separate from the traditional selection process.
Here are the 2023 Gold Glove Award finalists:
AMERICAN LEAGUE
FIRST BASE
Nathaniel Lowe, TEX
Ryan Mountcastle, BAL
Anthony Rizzo, NYY
Rizzo is a four-time Gold Glover and was a finalist last year, though he has yet to win as a Yankee. The veteran led AL first basemen with +6 Outs Above Average in 2023. Lowe has a Silver Slugger Award to his name, and now he’s trying to add his first Gold Glove Award, as is Mountcastle of the AL-best Orioles.
SECOND BASE
Mauricio Dubón, HOU
Andrés Giménez, CLE
Marcus Semien, TEX
Giménez is the reigning AL Gold Glove Award winner at second base, and he led AL second basemen with +18 OAA this season — third-best for any fielder at any position. Semien was the winner at second base before that, in 2021, and was a finalist in ’22 but lost to Giménez. The versatile Dubón is seeking his first career Gold Glove Award in his first full season in Houston.
THIRD BASE
Alex Bregman, HOU
Matt Chapman, TOR
José Ramírez, CLE
Chapman is a perennial Gold Glove contender at third base — he’s a three-time winner (and two-time Platinum Glove winner on top of that), most recently in 2021 with the A’s. Bregman and Ramírez have both won Silver Slugger Awards, but neither has a Gold Glove in his trophy case.
SHORTSTOP
Carlos Correa, MIN
Corey Seager, TEX
Anthony Volpe, NYY
The rookie Volpe inherited the Yankees’ starting shortstop job and tied for the AL lead among SS with 16 Defensive Runs Saved. The 22-year-old’s competition is two veteran stars. Correa is looking for his second Gold Glove Award in three seasons — he won in 2021 and was a finalist last year but lost to his successor in Houston, Jeremy Peña — while Seager would be a first-time winner.
LEFT FIELD
Austin Hays, BAL
Steven Kwan, CLE
Daulton Varsho, TOR
Kwan won the AL Gold Glove Award in left field as a rookie in 2022, but he now faces stiff competition from Varsho, who was an NL Gold Glove finalist in right field last year for the D-backs. Now in the AL, Varsho tied for fifth with +11 Outs Above Average, ahead of Kwan’s +9 OAA. And don’t discount Hays, who was a first-time All-Star this season and could be a first-time Gold Glover, too.
CENTER FIELD
Kevin Kiermaier, TOR
Luis Robert Jr., CWS
Julio Rodríguez, SEA
Center field in the AL might be the closest Gold Glove race. You have arguably one of the best defensive center fielders in Kiermaier (three Gold Gloves) going up against two of the most electric young stars at the position in Robert (one Gold Glove) and J-Rod. They were the top three center fielders in the AL by Outs Above Average in 2023, with Kiermaier and Robert at +13 and Rodríguez at +12.
RIGHT FIELD
Adolis García, TEX
Kyle Tucker, HOU
Alex Verdugo, BOS
Tucker is the reigning Gold Glover in right field in the AL, but both Verdugo and García have strong cases to win their first career Gold Glove Award. Verdugo led AL right fielders with 9 Defensive Runs Saved this season, and García was third with 7 DRS and had the most valuable throwing arm of any AL outfielder, according to Statcast.
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