Pirates C Jacob Stallings, SS Kevin Newman, CF Bryan Reynolds named Gold Glove finalists

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings, shortstop Kevin Newman and center fielder Bryan Reynolds were announced as Gold Glove finalists Thursday by Rawlings, which sponsors the fielding award.

The player who is perhaps the Pirates’ best defender didn’t make the cut, however, as Ke’Bryan Hayes missed the minimum innings requirement because of a hand injury that cost him two months of the season.

Stallings, who led all major league catchers in defensive runs saved (21) and pitch block rate this season, was named a Gold Glove finalist for the second consecutive year. He also was named a winner of the Fielding Bible Award and played 892 innings without allowing a passed ball, proof that he is one of the game’s elite blockers.

“I think all of our pitchers have complete confidence that, regardless of where they throw the pitch, where it is, Stalls is either gonna catch it and put it in a good spot, or he’s gonna block it,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

The last Pirates catcher to win a Gold Glove was Mike LaValliere in 1987. The other NL catcher finalists are nine-time Gold Glove winner Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals and 2019 Gold Glove winner J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington credited Stallings for constantly working on his craft since being designated for assignment during the 2019 season and returning to become a stalwart as the starting catcher.

“So much of defensive improvement and being a great defender is simply the willingness to work at it, and not just to work at it in time spent, but the willingness to be open-minded, how to work at it, how to train, what information to use and what not to use, trying new things,” Cherington said. “ ‘Stalls’ just does that consistently. It’s not just that he has pride in it, but he’s willing to challenge himself to get better, put the time in, and if you do that as a player, with that specific skill, defensive skill, we see pretty consistently that improvement happens.”

Both Newman and Reynolds are first-time finalists.

Newman was errorless through the first 76 games of the season, and finished with three errors in 1,074 1/3 innings over 132 games at shortstop. (He was errorless in 15 games at second base). Newman is joined in the shortstop finalists by three-time winner Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants and two-time winner Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets.

Reynolds switched from left field to center in late April and was selected to his first All-Star Game. He played 137 games in center field, making a series of spectacular diving catches and only two errors in 1,133 2/3 innings. The other center field finalists are Harrison Bader of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Milwaukee Brewers, who won the 2018 Gold Glove with the Boston Red Sox.

Despite his spectacular play at third base, Hayes didn’t meet Rawlings’ requirement of playing a minimum of 659 1/3 innings through the first 142 games after a left hand injury forced him to spend 60 days on the injured list. Hayes led all third basemen in defensive runs saved (16) and had only three errors in 249 chances over 95 games.

Cherington didn’t dwell on Hayes not meeting the criteria for the Gold Glove. Instead, he focused on Hayes winning the Fielding Bible Award and credited Hayes for being “incredibly mature,” crediting his consistency and capacity to compartmentalize his game by citing that he hasn’t seen a bad at-bat creep into his defensive performance.

“Certainly, he is really capable of being a candidate for that award in years to come and I would bet on him (to do so),” Cherington said. “We benefit if he is healthy enough to play more, so we’ll focus on that and hope for that. The Fielding Bible Award is great recognition and deserved recognition for the defender he is, and we all see that play out on the field every day.”