Three Chicago Cubs are finalists for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award

Rawlings Baseball announced that three Chicago Cubs are finalists for the Gold Glove Awards. Nico Hoerner at second, Dansby Swanson at shortstop, and Ian Happ in left field. Swanson and Happ both won their first career Gold Gloves in 2022, while Hoerner is in play for his first Gold Glove.

Despite the miscues at the end of the season when things were falling apart, Swanson was overall one of the best defenders at his position in baseball. He joins Francisco Lindor of the Mets and Ezequiel Tovar of the Rockies as finalists. The last Cub to win a Gold Glove at short was Javier Baez in 2020. Only Baez, Don Kessinger, and Ernie Banks have won a Gold Glove at shortstop for the Cubs.

Per FanGraphs, Swanson was the best among National League shortstops in Def (defensive value) at 20.3, DRS (defensive runs saved) at 18, RAA (runs above average) at 15, and OAA (outs above average) at 20. He was tied for second in UZR (ultimate zone rating) at 5.9 behind Lindor’s 9.1 and tied for fourth in fielding percentage at .981. Among all qualified defenders at all positions in baseball, Swanson was the fifth most valuable defender per FanGraphs Def.

Hoerner joins Ha-Seong Kim of the Padres and Bryson Stott of the Phillies as finalists. The last Cub to win a Gold Glove at second was Darwin Barney in 2012. Barney, Glenn Beckert, Ken Hubbs, and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg (who won nine Gold Gloves) are the other Cubs second basemen to win at least one Gold Glove.

Hoerner’s 10.7 Def was second-best among qualified National League second basemen. He trailed Stott’s 11.3 Def by a close margin. Hoerner is also second-highest in DRS at 11 and OAA at 14. Milwaukee’s Brice Turang was just above Hoerner in DRS (12) and Stott’s OAA (17). While Hoerner had seven errors, he had only one fielding error. The rest were throwing errors. His .988 fielding percentage was third-best among NL second basemen.

Happ was somewhat surprising, despite having a Gold Glove season in 2022. There were some rough plays in 2023 not coming up with the ball on flyballs that should have been caught. However, he still made some really nice plays. He joins David Peralta of the Dodgers and Eddie Rosario of the Braves as finalists. Happ, Jason Heyward, Bob Dernier, and Hall of Famer Andre Dawson are the other Cub outfielders to win Gold Gloves.

Happ was the leader among qualified National League left fielders in assists at 12. One might remember him gunning down runners in extra innings on July 4th in Milwaukee to preserve a win. It is no surprise that his ARM (outfield arm runs above average) at 4.2 was the best among NL left fielders with those assist numbers. Happ does not have the strongest arm, but he was efficient with his throws. He was also first in UZR by a wide margin at 10.7, with Bryan Reynold of the Pirates being second at only 0.9. Happ was second in DRS at 2 and third in fielding percentage at .989 among NL players at his position.

Time will tell who, if any, end up winning the award. Swanson seems like the closest to being a “slam dunk” as he leads in so many defensive categories and is statistically one of the top-five defenders in all of baseball. Hoerner had a great defensive season, though it will be a tough battle with Stott who has a leg in several metrics. At first glance, Happ might not seem like the guy, but his assist and UZR numbers are really good.

It would be awesome if all three could bring home the award. Good luck to them!

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