Major League Baseball released their finalists for Gold Glove awards on Tuesday morning. And for Seattle Mariners fans, there were a few surprises.
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh was (not shockingly) among the three American League finalists for his position. Raleigh has long been speculated to be a potential Silver Slugger and Gold Glove nominee (and probable winner). He wasn't one of the surprises.
One of the shocking pieces of news was that Dylan Moore was one of three AL utility player finalists alongside the Minnesota Twins' Willi Castro and the Houston Astros' Mauricio Dubon.
Moore played every infield spot at some point this season. He filled in at shortstop on multiple occasions this season as JP Crawford was on the injured list two separate times.
But Moore's consideration for the Gold Glove may have come at the expense of his teammate Josh Rojas.
Rojas was the primary third baseman for the Mariners in 2024 but also saw some time at second base, first, second and left field this season.
Rojas' defense was the highlight of his season. He had nine outs above replacement, which ranked in the 94th percentile according to Baseball Savant.
While playing the hot corner, Rojas had an 8.9 fielding and positional adjustment according to FanGraphs. He had a 1.2 dWAR (defensive wins above replacement) according to ESPN, which would have tied him for seventh among all MLB third baseman.
Several fans on "X" (formerly known as Twitter) were quick to point out Rojas stats at third base compared to to other AL third baseman finalists: Alex Bregman, Ernie Clement and Jose Ramirez.
Josh Rojas was robbed. https://t.co/tt8oNhyWIF pic.twitter.com/7KNoM5oVMP
— Switch (@IISwitchII) October 15, 2024
It's unfortunate that Rojas didn't get to represent Seattle on the Gold Glove list despite having the numbers to do so.
But between Moore and Raleigh, at least one of them will likely have the gold patch on their glove by the time the 2025 season rolls around.
No Mariners have won a Gold Glove Award since the 2020 season.
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