Red Sox could match rare feat with three Gold Glove winners

Three Red Sox position players were named Gold Glove award finalists Wednesday.

Right fielder Wilyer Abreu and center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela were both chosen as nominees after winning the award last year. In addition, Caleb Durbin was a first-time nominee at third base.

The Sox had three finalists last year, too, with catcher Carlos Narváez joining Abreu and Rafaela as nominees.

Abreu has won the award two years running and could become a three-time honoree when the winners are revealed next month.

He led all major league right fielders with 13 assists while being credited with 28 defensive runs saved. Toronto’s Nathan Lukes and Houston’s Cam Smith are the two other finalists in right field.

Should Abreu win again, only five players in franchise history will have won more Gold Gloves: Dwight Evans (eight), Carl Yastrzemski (seven), Dustin Pedroia (four), Mookie Betts (four) and Fred Lynn (four).

Rafaela, a first-time winner a year ago, led all American League center fielders with eight assists while recording 21 defensive runs saved. He also led all American League outfielders with 17 outs above average, second in the game only to the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong (26).

He’ll be contending for the honor with Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians and Evan Carter of the Texas Rangers in center.

In his first season with the Red Sox, Durbin struggled mightily at the plate for the first half of the season, but his play in the field never faltered in the infield. He was credited with six outs above average at third base.

The other AL finalists at third base are Minnesota’s Brooks Lee and Kansas City’s Nick Loftin.

The only other third baseman in team history to win a Gold Glove is Frank Malzone, who won three straight from 1957-1959.

Should all three Red Sox finalists win the award, it will mark the first time since 2018 that three players on the Boston roster have been honored. That year, outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts along with second baseman Ian Kinsler were winners.

The Sox also had three winners in 2011: First baseman Adrian Gonzalez, second baseman Dustin Pedroia and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.