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Minnesota Twins 1B Carlos Santana Keeps Gold Glove Hopes Alive

Originally posted on Minnesota Sports Fan
By Ted Schwerzler | Last updated 10/15/24

The Minnesota Twins needed a new first baseman last offseason and they targeted veteran Carlos Santana. His bat appeared to have aged early, but the glove never showed any questions. All season long he was a defensive star, and that may be rewarded with a Gold Glove.

Carlos Santana named Gold Glove finalist for Minnesota Twins

Carlos Santana signed with the Minnesota Twins for a modest $5.25 million last offseason. He got out of the gate slowly, but wound up producing a 109 OPS+. That is a high-water mark dating back to 2019. Defensively he shined each time he took the field. Now, he has been named a finalist for a Rawlings Gold Glove award.

The 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove Finalists – AL First Base – Ryan Mountcastle, Nathaniel Lowe, Carlos Santana#RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/Oq88LKrtkW
— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 15, 2024

Surprisingly Santana’s only individual award is a Silver Slugger that he earned in 2019. At times the Gold Glove has been more about rewarding a good defender who produces offensively as well. That has started to change in recent seasons, and Santana’s advanced defensive metrics should make him a shoo-in to take it home.

Player	DRS	OAA	FRV	Fielding %
Carlos Santana	8	14	11	.996
Ryan Mountcastle	8	2	2	.997
Nathaniel Lowe	1	7	5	.995

Statistics courtesy of FanGraphs

While Santana did make one more error (4) than Mountcastle (3), it’s clear who jumps off the page. The eye test showed the same thing all season long, and Santana was consistently responsible for highlight reel plays. His ability to cover the line was exceedingly impressive, especially considering the twitch nature of those plays for someone nearly 40 years old.

At the end of the day, Santana will very likely be named the winner of his first Gold Glove. That is an achievement he set out to accomplish at the beginning of the season, and is something he can hang his hat on long after he retires.

Carlos Santana goes over the railing and makes the catch! pic.twitter.com/dvcoaB0Lg1
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 6, 2024

The Rawlings Gold Glove Awards will be announced on November 3rd on ESPN at 7:30pm CT. Minnesota has not had a player win a Gold Glove since both Byron Buxton (Platinum) and Brian Dozier did so in 2017.

This article first appeared on Minnesota Sports Fan and was syndicated with permission.

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