Urías and Mullins named Gold Glove finalists in American League

The Orioles will have two opportunities to break their streak of being denied a Rawlings Gold Glove.

Infielder Ramón Urías didn’t need the implementation of a utility player category in 2022 to be recognized in the American League. He joined the Blue Jays’ Matt Chapman and the Guardians’ José Ramírez today as finalists at third base.

Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins also was named a finalist with the Guardians’ Myles Straw and the Royals’ Michael A. Taylor.

Known more for his versatility in the field, Urías led the league with 14 defensive runs saved and a 10.9 ultimate zone rating at third base per FanGraphs.com. His seven outs above average put him ahead of Chapman (one) and Ramírez (one).

Urías, 28, was limited to 118 games due to injuries but made 84 starts and 98 appearances at third base. He also played second base and shortstop and twice served as the designated hitter.

Urías was charged with eight errors in 259 chances.

The Orioles selected Urías off waivers from the Cardinals in February 2020. Where he fits next summer is in question with Gunnar Henderson's promotion on Aug. 31 and the anticipated debuts of Jordan Westburg and Joey Ortiz.

Mullins, the 2021 Most Valuable Oriole after registering the franchise’s first 30/30 season, didn’t commit an error in 367 chances and 150 games and ranks third in the league among qualified players with five defensive runs saved. Taylor leads the majors with 19 and Straw is second with 17.

Straw leads the majors with a 13.2 UZR and Taylor is third at 10.3. Mullins has a 3.0 UZR, but his eight OAA are tied for second in the AL behind Straw’s 13.

The winners will be announced on Nov. 1.

There had to be at least one snub, and Jorge Mateo was excluded among shortstops.

The Red Sox’s Xander Bogaerts, the Twins’ Carlos Correa and the Astros’ Jeremy Peña are finalists.

Mateo was a waiver claim from the Padres in August 2021 who appeared in 150 games this season and made the spectacular seem routine. His range and arm were showcased on a nightly basis.

Baseball-Reference.com assigns Mateo a 2.3 dWAR. He committed 17 errors in 615 chances and was involved in 91 double plays turned. His .972 fielding percentage is sixth in the league.

Mateo’s 14 DRS ranked second in the league among shortstops behind Pena (15). His 7.5 UZR was second in the majors behind the Guardians’ Amed Rosario (9.4).

Peña’s seven OAA lead the finalists. Mateo ranked first the league with 11.

On the offensive side, Mateo led the league with 35 stolen bases to finish one ahead of Mullins.

The Orioles’ last Gold Glove winner was Manny Machado at third base in 2015. They had multiple winners with catcher Matt Wieters and outfielder Nick Markakis in 2011, Wieters, outfielder Adam Jones and shortstop J.J. Hardy in 2012, Machado, Hardy and Jones in 2013, and Markakis and Jones in 2014.

None of the Orioles were chosen as finalists last year. Right fielder Anthony Santander was a finalist in 2020 and lost to the Rangers’ Joey Gallo.

Machado was a finalist in 2016 and 2017 lost the Rangers’ Adrian Beltre and Rays’ Evan Longoria. First baseman Chris Davis was a finalist in 2016 and lost to the Rangers’ Mitch Moreland.

Catcher Adley Rutschman, whose 18 defensive runs saved ranked second in the AL per FanGraphs.com, wasn’t chosen as a finalist this year.

Managers and coaches account for 75 percent of the voting, with the other 25 percent going to the sabermetrics community.

Rawlings initiated the award in 1957. The Orioles rank second in the majors with 71 Gold Gloves, trailing only the Cardinals (96).

Seventeen Orioles have received Gold Gloves, all of them winning multiple times, led by Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson with 16. Robinson is tied with pitcher Jim Kaat for second place all-time.

Center fielder Paul Blair and shortstop Mark Belanger each won eight.

The 2022 Orioles finished tied for ninth in the majors in defensive runs saved with 38. They were 24^th last year.

FanGraphs.com ranked the Orioles fourth in team defense in the American League.

Here are the AL finalists:

Pitchers
José Berríos – Blue Jays
Shane Bieber – Guardians
Jameson Taillon – Yankees

Catchers
Sean Murphy – Athletics
Cal Raleigh – Mariners
Jose Trevino – Yankees

First basemen
Luis Arráez – Twins
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Blue Jays
Anthony Rizzo – Yankees

Second basemen
Andrés Giménez – Guardians
Jonathan Schoop – Tigers
Marcus Semien - Rangers

Shortstops
Xander Bogaerts – Red Sox
Carlos Correa – Twins
Jeremy Peña - Astros

Third basemen
Matt Chapman – Blue Jays
Ramón Urías – Orioles
José Ramírez - Guardians

Left fielders
Andrew Benintendi – Royals/Yankees
Steven Kwan – Guardians
Brandon Marsh – Angels

Center fielders
Cedric Mullins – Orioles
Myles Straw – Guardians
Michael A. Taylor - Royals

Right fielders
Max Kepler – Twins
Jackie Bradley Jr. – Red Sox/Blue Jays
Kyle Tucker – Astros

Utility
Whit Merrifield – Royals/Blue Jays
DJ LeMahieu – Yankees
Luis Rengifo - Angels