You could say a lot of things about the Cleveland Guardians: that they rarely spend big in free agents, that their offense is a tad inconsistent, or that their unwillingness to bring in a more established starter before the deadline cost them in the playoffs.
However, denying that they are one of MLB’s premier defensive teams would be foolish.
Their infield is particularly talented, with three Gold Glove nominees, and the left side of their outfield, well, has Steven Kwan.
Brayan Rocchio and Jose Ramirez lost out to other elite fielders, but Kwan and second baseman Andrés Giménez won their third consecutive Gold Glove award each on Sunday night.
As a result, they join an exclusive group of fielders who have lifted the cool trophy both in 2023 and 2024.
These six players have won back-to-back Gold Gloves. pic.twitter.com/jT1m9II7V8
— MLB (@MLB) November 4, 2024
Christian Walker, Ian Happ, Matt Chapman, and Brenton Doyle are the others.
In the case of both Giménez and Kwan, they also won it in 2022 so yes: they are very good at what they do.
Kwan has incredible awareness, route running ability and makes excellent reads every time.
He also boasts an underrated arm and is speedy and athletic, traits that helped him accumulate nine Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), four Outs Above Average (OAA) in limited time this year.
Oh, he also gunned down nine runners on the bases.
When it comes to pure defensive ability, no one matches Giménez at second base.
He has elite instincts and reflexes, he has elite range and silky soft hands.
He makes every play in the book: the routine ones and the magical, impossible ones too.
The numbers (+20 DRS and +20 OAA) don’t even begin to do justice to what he does on the field.
He is a solid candidate to repeat as the best fielder in MLB and get the Platinum Glove.
NEXT: 2 Guardians Win Prestigious Defensive Awards For The Third Straight Year
