5 Arizona Diamondbacks named Gold Glove finalists

Five Arizona Diamondbacks players were named finalists in the National League for the coveted Gold Glove Awards, a form of validation for a team that was viewed by many as one of the better defensive clubs in baseball this year.

The group is headlined by first baseman Christian Walker and catcher Gabriel Moreno, both of whom won Gold Gloves last year.

The Gold Glove rewards the players deemed to have displayed the best fielding performance at each position in the NL and AL. Both leagues have three finalists at each position.

Walker will be looking to make it three consecutive years as the winner at first base. He led NL first basemen in 13 outs above average. As for Moreno, he could be the first back-to-back winner at catcher in the NL since the St. Louis Cardinals’ Yadier Molina won eight in a row from 2008-15.

Also named finalists were second baseman Ketel Marte, left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and right fielder Jake McCarthy.

Marte will have tough competition with the Brewers’ Brice Turang, who dominated the field in defensive runs saved, recording 21 compared with Marte’s 10.

But, with Marte, it is a significant accomplishment for a player whose defense was seen as lacking significantly as recently as a few years ago, when team officials worried he would need to move to first base or another less-demanding position.

This is the third time Gurriel has been named a finalist. He was twice an American League finalist in left field as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 and 2021. This year, he led all NL left fielders with three outs above average.

McCarthy is something of a surprise as a finalist in right field, only because he did not log many innings at the position, splitting time between center (58 starts), right (42 starts) and left (16 starts). All told, he accumulated six outs above average in the outfield.

The winners will be announced on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on Nov. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Here is the full list of finalists.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 Arizona Diamondbacks named Gold Glove finalists