Chicago White Sox infielder Nicky Lopez joined Marcus Semien of the Texas Rangers and Andrés Giménez of the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday as finalists for the American League Gold Glove Award at second base.
Lopez, acquired last November as part of a trade that sent reliever Aaron Bummer to the Atlanta Braves, made three errors in 283 chances during his 83 games at second base. The Naperville Central product’s .989 fielding percentage ranked third among AL second basemen (minimum of 500 innings). The 29-year-old played 640 1/3 innings at second base and 344 2/3 innings at shortstop this year.
According to FanGraphs, Lopez also finished third among AL second basemen in defensive runs above average (4.0), trailing only Semien (15.7) and Giménez (15.7). And according to MLB Statcast, he finished tied for third among AL second basemen in outs above average (plus-4), trailing Giménez (plus-20) and Semien (plus-19).
Through Aug. 11 games, the most recent update available, Lopez ranked fifth for AL second basemen in the SABR Defensive Index — which accounts for approximately 25% of the Gold Glove Award selection process. Votes from managers and coaches make up the remaining 75%. The top five consisted of Giménez (12.5), Semien (12.2), Zack Gelof of the Oakland Athletics (2.9), Richie Palacios of the Tampa Bay Rays (2.4) and Lopez (1.4).
Lopez was one of four finalists at second base for a Gold Glove Award in 2020 while with the Kansas City Royals.
