Santander chosen as Gold Glove finalist

The marked improvement of Anthony Santander as a major league outfielder is illustrated further by his selection today as a finalist for a Rawlings Gold Glove.

Santander is joined by the Yankees' Clint Frazier and the Rangers' Joey Gallo as finalists in right field. The winners will be announced on Nov. 3.

None of the Orioles were chosen as finalists last year.

Manny Machado is the last Orioles recipient of a Gold Glove, finishing first among third basemen in 2015. He was chosen as a finalist again today with the Padres.

Adam Jones and Nick Markakis are the last Orioles outfielders to win a Gold Glove, in 2014.

Santander appeared in 37 games before suffering a strained oblique muscle. He didn't play after Game 1 of a Sept. 4 doubleheader against the Yankees at Camden Yards.

Enough time to impress.

The local media selected Santander as Most Valuable Oriole after he batted .261/.315/.575 with 13 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in 165 plate appearances. He had a career-high 1.5 WAR and 0.7 dWAR per BaseballReference.com.

Gallo posted a 1.0 dWAR and Frazier a 0.0 dWAR. However, Gallo had 12 defensive runs saved (DRS) per FanGraphs.com, compared to eight for Santander. Santander had five DRS last summer.

Gallo also registered a 6.1 ultimate zone rating (UZR) and 16.9 UZR/150 this season, compared to 1.1 and 4.3 for Santander.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde campaigned for center fielder Cedric Mullins during one of his late Zoom conference calls, but it didn't work. Shortstop José Iglesias also was omitted.

Former Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop is a Gold Glove finalist this year.

The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Defensive Index will determine the winners.

Here is the complete list:

AL pitchers
Griffin Canning, Angels
Kenta Maeda, Twins
Zach Plesac, Indians

NL pitchers
Max Fried, Braves
Kyle Hendricks, Cubs
Alec Mills, Cubs

AL catchers
Yasmani Grandal, White Sox
James McCann, White Sox
Roberto Pérez, Indians

NL catchers
Tucker Barnhart, Reds
Willson Contreras, Cubs
Jacob Stallings, Pirates

AL first basemen
Yuli Gurriel, Astros
Matt Olson, Athletics
Evan White, Mariners

NL first basemen
Brandon Belt, Giants
Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals
Anthony Rizzo, Cubs

AL second basemen
César Hernández, Indians
Danny Mendick, White Sox
Jonathan Schoop, Tigers

NL second basemen
Adam Frazier, Pirates
Nico Hoerner, Cubs
Kolten Wong, Cardinals

AL third basemen
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Rangers
Yoán Moncada, White Sox
Gio Urshela, Yankees

NL third basemen
Brian Anderson, Marlins
Nolan Arenado, Rockies
Manny Machado, Padres

AL shortstops
Carlos Correa, Astros
J.P. Crawford, Mariners
Niko Goodrum, Tigers

NL shortstops
Javier Báez, Cubs
Miguel Rojas, Marlins
Dansby Swanson, Braves

AL left fielders
Alex Gordon, Royals
Lourdes Gurriel Jr, Blue Jays
Kyle Tucker, Astros

NL left fielders
Shogo Akiyama, Reds
Tyler O'Neill, Cardinals
David Peralta, Diamondbacks

AL center fielders
Byron Buxton, Twins
Ramón Laureano, Athletics
Luis Robert, White Sox

NL center fielders
Ronald Acuña Jr, Braves
Cody Bellinger, Dodgers
Trent Grisham, Padres

AL right fielders
Clint Frazier, Yankees
Joey Gallo, Rangers
Anthony Santander, Orioles

NL right fielders
Mookie Betts, Dodgers
Charlie Blackmon, Rockies
Jason Heyward, Cubs