The Yankees and Mets each boast two contenders for the prestigious Gold Glove awards, albeit in a somewhat unconventional scenario.
Yankees’ star pitcher Max Fried is among the trio vying for the American League’s top defensive honor for pitchers. Meanwhile, Ryan McMahon, now with the Yankees following a mid-season trade from the Colorado Rockies, finds himself in contention for the National League’s third-base award.
On the Mets’ roster, catcher Luis Torrens and pitcher David Peterson are finalists for the NL Gold Gloves in their respective positions.
Fried, a former Atlanta Braves pitcher, secured three Gold Gloves between 2020 and 2022. In his debut season with the Yankees, he led Major League Baseball pitchers with 10 defensive runs saved and tallied 39 assists.
His primary competitors include Jacob deGrom of the Texas Rangers and Luis Severino of the Oakland Athletics, both of whom maintained error-free records. However, Fried, at age 31, accrued four errors over the season.
Conversely, McMahon distinguished himself by ranking fourth among MLB third basemen with 10 defensive runs saved, six of which he achieved in 100 games while still with the Rockies.
The 30-year-old McMahon lived up to his reputation as an elite defender after joining the Yankees, never more so than when he made a running catch and flipped into the visitors’ dugout during Game 3 of their Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox.
Also nominated in the NL is Ke’Bryan Hayes, who led major-league third basemen with 19 defensive runs saved and 22 outs above average for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds. Matt Shaw of the Chicago Cubs rounds out that position group.
At catcher, Torrens threw out 20 of 49 base stealers (40.8%) for the best caught-stealing rate in the NL. Advanced metrics also view Torrens favorably, as his 12 Caught Stealing Above Average was the best among MLB catchers, while his pitch framing graded within the 82nd percentile.
Torrens, 29, made 86 appearances at catcher, filling in as Francisco Alvarez dealt with multiple injuries and a month-long demotion to the minors. The other NL finalists at catcher are the San Francisco Giants’ Patrick Bailey and the Chicago Cubs’ Carson Kelly.
Peterson was tied for third among MLB pitchers with six defensive runs saved. San Francisco’s Logan Webb, who led the NL with seven defensive runs saved, is also a finalist, as is the Cubs’ Matthew Boyd, who had six.
The left-handed Peterson, 30, did not commit an error after tying for the MLB lead among pitchers with five in 2024.
McMahon, Torrens and Peterson each seek their first Gold Glove.
The Yankees’ last Gold Glove winner was shortstop Anthony Volpe in 2023, while the Mets have not had one since outfielder Juan Lagares in 2014.
