Three Pirates Announced as Finalists for National League Gold Gloves

Rawlings announced the finalists for the 2021 Gold Glove Awards and Jacob Stallings, Kevin Newman and Bryan Reynolds were among the finalists at their position.

Stallings joins Yadier Molina of the Cardinals and the Phillies’ JT Realmuto as three finalists for the National League’s top defensive catcher. Stallings caught 104 games for the Pirates this season and was tied with Carlos Correa for the most defensive runs saved with 21. He finished the season as an above average pitch framer and was the main catcher responsible for the Pirates breaking a Major League record for most consecutive games without allowing a passed ball. Stallings was a finalist for the same award last year which ultimately went to the Reds’ Tucker Barnhart.

Newman is one of three finalists at shortstop along with Brandon Crawford of the Giants and Francisco Lindor of the Mets. Newman set a club record with 76 consecutive games without an error to begin the year. Newman’s defense rightfully gets recognized as he turned himself from a below-average defender to one of the best in baseball. He recorded nine defensive runs saved at shortstop in 2021 – the most of his career by far and the first time he’s been on the plus-side.

Reynolds joins National League Central foes Harrison Bader (Cardinals) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (Brewers) for the center field finalists in the senior circuit. Reynolds began the year as the Pirates’ left fielder, but quickly made the move to center field with the centerfield situation in flux. He was second among National League outfielders in Outs Above Average (+10).

There is one glaring omission from the finalists for National League Gold Glove and it’s at third base. Ke’Bryan Hayes was not named one of the three up for the award at the position as he did not meet the unusually specific guidelines of playing in the field for 713 or more innings through his team’s first 142 games. Instead, the winner will be chosen from Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado and Ryan McMahon.

The Gold Glove winners will be announced on Nov. 2.