Diamondbacks’ Christian Walker wins third Gold Glove award

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker won a Gold Glove award for the 2024 season, Major League Baseball announced on Sunday.

Catcher Gabriel Moreno, second baseman Ketel Marte and outfielders Jake McCarthy and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. fell short as finalists for the award. San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, Milwaukee second baseman Brice Turang, Brewers right fielder Sal Frelick and Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ beat out the four D-backs runners up.

Walker secured his third straight Gold Glove, becoming the third Diamondbacks player in team history to win the award at least three times after first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (2013, 2015, 2017) and pitcher Zack Greinke (2016-19).

The veteran led NL first basemen with a .998 fielding percentage, 13 outs above average and finished second with seven defensive runs saved despite missing five weeks with an oblique strain. He has been a safety blanket for the infield who has worked diligently to become the premier defensive first baseman in baseball.

He won the award over Atlanta’s Matt Olson and Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper.

Walker is a free agent this winter after spending the last eight seasons in Arizona.

Which Diamondbacks lost out on Gold Gloves?

Among NL defenders with at least 100 innings logged in left field, Gurriel led the pack with three outs above average while adding three defensive runs saved. He completed four outfield assists this season and committed five errors.

Gurriel has not been a plus defender for much of his career, amassing a whopping -7 OAA in 2021 with Toronto, but he has improved his left field defense since coming to Arizona.

Philadelphia’s Brandon Marsh was the third finalist.

Moreno won the award in 2023 and put together another stout defensive season. He caught 29% of would-be base stealers, well ahead of the 21% league average but not quite the otherworldly 39% he earned a season ago. His 10 defensive runs saved ranked second to Bailey’s 20 in the NL.

Injuries to Moreno’s thumb and adductor led to two injured list stints for Moreno, the latter which kept him out for more than a month. Bailey caught nearly 200 more innings than Moreno as a result. The third finalist was Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Marte put together his best defensive season in years, as he and Walker made up quite the duo on the right side of the infield. Through all the sliding plays and shimmies, Marte produced eight outs above average and 10 defensive runs saved, which ranked fourth and second in the NL respectively.

Turang led MLB (all positions) with 22 DRS, but he trailed Marte with six OAA and committed more errors with seven (Marte committed five).

The third candidate was Philadelphia’s Bryson Stott.

Finally, McCarthy received the nod for right field, despite spending more time this season in center field.

Among all outfielders, McCarthy ranked 12th with six OAA, albeit with -3 DRS as it became common to see him almost make spectacular plays going back on the ball in center field.

McCarthy was valuable to the Diamondbacks for his defensive versatility, having played at least 164 innings in all three spots.

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