ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - In 2021 and 2022, the Cardinals' defense was seen as one of the best in the league, with Cardinals players receiving 11 Gold Glove finalist nominations, with nine players winning it, along with the club earning two consecutive team Gold Gloves.
In 2023, only one Cardinals player received a nomination as a Gold Glove finalist. Rawlings announced the finalists for the 2023 Gold Gloves Wednesday afternoon, with Tommy Edman being the loan Cardinals player to earn a nomination for a Glove Glove, being named finalist for the NL Utility Gold Glove, alongside San Diego Padres INF Ha-Seong Kim and Los Angeles Dodgers Outfielder Mookie Betts.
Tommy Edman didn't have great season defensively compared to 2022, where he still put a respectable of DRS(defensive runs saved) of two overall in 2023, down from 18 in 2022. But it was enough to earn a Gold Glove nomination for the third straight year.
Edman's being the lone Cardinals player will likely end a few streaks for the Cardinals. It will now be highly unlikely the team will earn their third consecutive team Gold Glove and for the first time since 2012, a third baseman not named Nolan Arenado will win the 2023 Gold Glove at third base for the National League.
It was tough year for the Cardinals defense. After two years in which the Cardinals were the top defensive team in the majors, with the team leading MLB in advanced defensive stats like Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) in 2021 and 2022, the team surprisingly had issues defensively, with the Cardinals posting the sixth-worst UZR(-17.9) in baseball and the Cardinals defense being ranked in the bottom third in DRS (-8).
There were numerous factors that impacted the defense's regression, from the forced reduction of the shift in baseball this season by MLB, personnel changes like Jordan Walker slotting into right field and Willson Contreras succeeding Yadier Molina at Catcher, along with injuries like Brendan Donovan season being cut short with elbow problems and outfielder Dylan Carlson and Tyler O'Neill seeing multiple stints on the injured list.
Cardinals players who had long track records of being studs on defense surprisingly had down seasons, like Nolan Arenado, who DRS of one in 2023 was a career low. His down season defensively led to Arenado not being named a finalist for the third base Gold Glove for the first time in his career and the first time since 2012 that a third baseman not named Arenado will win a Gold Glove at the position.
While the Cardinals issues when it comes to starting pitching might've been the number one factor for why the club had a terrible 2023 season, the regression on defense by the team might be the number two reason for the team's downfall this season.
If the Cardinals will want to avoid 2023 from ever happening again, improvements on the team's starting pitching will certainly be priority number one, but improvements on defense should be priority number two.
Three players with Cardinals ties also were named Finalists for the 2023 Gold Gloves. Texas Rangers OF Adolis Garcia, Washington Nationals OF Lane Thomas and Los Angeles Dodgers OF David Peralta were named finalists for Gold Gloves in the outfield.
Garcia and Thomas both had stints with the Cardinals during a stretch from 2018- 2021, while Peralta never made an appearance in the majors with the Cardinals, but he was a former farmhand in the Cardinals farm system, originally as a pitcher.
The winners of the 2023 Gold Gloves will be announced on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 6:30 p.m. CT.