Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager came off the gold standard Thursday in terms of defensive excellence.
Seager failed to make the cut when Rawlings Sports announced the three finalists at each position for its annual Gold Glove awards. The winners will be announced Nov. 10.
No Mariners are among the finalists at any position. Seager, a 2014 recipient, was generally viewed as their only likely candidate.
The American League winner at third base will instead be either Adrian Beltre of Texas, Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay or Manny Machado of Baltimore. All three are previous recipients.
The award is determined through a vote of the managers and coaches in each league (75 percent) and a sabermetric component (25 percent). Voting took place in early September. Managers and coaches are prohibited from voting for their own players.
When Seager won the award a year ago, he became the Mariners’ first recipient since outfielders Ichiro Suzuki and Franklin Gutierrez in 2010.
Beltre won the first two of his four Gold Gloves while playing for the Mariners in 2007 and 2008. He also won in 2011 and 2012 at Texas. Longoria was the 2009 and 2010 recipient. Machado was the 2013 winner.
Advanced defensive metrics show Beltre and Machado as strong candidates. Beltre led all AL third basemen with 18 runs saved and second in zone rating at plus-11. Machado was second in runs saved (13) and fourth in zone rating (eight).
Longoria was minus-1 in runs saved but led all third basemen with a 14 zone rating. Seager had a zero in runs saved and an eight in zone rating.
Here are the American League Gold Glove finalists (2014 winners noted with an asterisk):
Pitcher: Mark Buehrle, Toronto; Sonny Gray, Oakland; *Dallas Keuchel, Houston.
Catcher: Jason Castro, Houston; Russell Martin, Toronto; *Salvy Perez, Kansas City.
First base: *Eric Hosmer, Kansas City; Mike Napoli, Texas; Mark Teixeira, New York.
Second base: Jose Altuve, Houston; Brian Dozier, Minnesota; Ian Kinsler, Detroit.
Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts, Boston; Alcides Escobar, Kansas City; Didi Gregorius, New York.
Third base: Adrian Beltre, Texas; Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay; Manny Machado, Baltimore.
Left field: Yoenis Cespedes, Detroit; Brett Gardner, New York; *Alex Gordon, Kansas City.
Center field: Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay; Kevin Pillar, Toronto; Mike Trout, Los Angeles.
Right field: Kole Calhoun, Los Angeles; J.D. Martinez, Detroit; Josh Reddick, Oakland.
Here are the National League Gold Glove finalists (2014 winners noted with an asterisk):
Pitcher: Jake Arrieta, Chicago; Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh; *Zack Greinke, Los Angeles.
Catcher: *Yadier Molina, St. Louis; Buster Posey, San Francisco; Wilson Ramos, Washington.
First base: Brandon Belt, San Francisco; Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona; *Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles.
Second base: Dee Gordon, Miami; *D.J. LeMahieu, Colorado; Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati.
Shortstop: Brandon Crawford, San Francisco; Adeiny Hechavarria, Miami; *Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta.
Third base: *Nolan Arenado, Colorado; Matt Duffy, San Francisco; Todd Frazier, Cincinnati.
Left field: Starling Marte, Pittsburgh; Justin Upton, San Diego; *Christian Yelich, Miami.
Center field: Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati; Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh; A.J. Pollock, Arizona.
Right field: Curtis Granderson, New York; Bryce Harper, Washington; *Jason Heyward, St. Louis.
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