Jo Adell and Griffin Canning represent the Angels amongst the Gold Glove Finalists

The Angels finally have some positive news, at least on the surface. Jo Adell and Griffin Canning are finalists for a Gold Glove!

Just for clarity's sake, here are the official qualifications to become a Gold Glove finalist as a pitcher or outfielder:

"To qualify for consideration for a particular position, a player must have played a minimum number of games or innings (based on position) at that position through games played on September 11th, 2022:
-All pitchers must have pitched in at least 138 innings by his team’s 138th game;
-All infielders and outfielders must have played in the field for at least 698 total innings through his team’s 138th game: this equates to playing in the field for approximately 7.5 innings per game in approximately 67% of his team’s games by his team’s 138th game; this ensures that only full-time players are considered;
-All infielders and outfielders with at least 698 total innings played qualify at the specific position where he played the most innings (i.e. where his manager utilized him the most)"

Rawlings Gold Glove Selection Criteria

Yes, these qualifications really do not make a lot of sense. It's a baseball super-nerd way of saying they need to play a lot of games. In terms of games played for American League right fielders, there are roughly eight options...and only one of them is good. Spoiler alert: it's Wilyer Abreu.

Abreu is the favorite to win the award over Adell and Juan Soto, and it's not particularly close. While it is cool to see Adell receive some shine, it is rather indicative of the weak class of defensive right fielders in the American League. FanGraphs' defensive WAR is not everything, but it certainly is ~at least~ slightly indicative of how good a player is as a defender. Of 112 American League players to have played right field this season, Adell and Soto's defensive fWARs of -5.3 and -6.0 (respectively) rank 105th and 106th.

Adell certainly made strides this season in the outfield in terms of not making multiple laughably poor attempts at catching fly balls, but this nomination has not exonerated him of any future bone-headed plays in right field by any means. Adell's best quality in the outfield is his range, which is backed up by his Range Runs Above Average of 3.8 ranking 3rd highest amongst AL RFers (far behind Abreu's 6.0, and just below Jonny DeLuca's 3.9). Adell's sprint speed has gone down some, but his range in the outfield has improved drastically over the years. Other range stats, like Savant's OAA, grade Adell unfavorably, however. It does appear that his positive defensive stats and his Gold Glove nomination are from pure quantity and not high quality play.

With Adell, fans will cling to this nomination. Do. Not. Do. That. His nomination is eye-wash. Yes, Adell was a better fielder this year than Hunter Renfroe, George Springer, Anthony Santander, and Adolis García. That's not saying much, they were atrocious and Adell was not atrocious (for once). Yes, Adell is still young and developing, but this nomination does not mean he is a future Gold Glover by any means.

With Canning, being a top 3 finalist for a Gold Glove definitely means more because it is a much deeper class. He also already won a Gold Glove back in 2020. While Canning is a legitimately fantastic fielder, he was a terrible pitcher this past season. It remains to be seen if the Angels will even retain him, and Perry Minasian is assuredly making calls to other GMs to see if this Gold Glove nomination would entice them to trade for him. Receiving anything back for Canning at this point would be a major win, despite how good of a fielder he is. He is on the bubble for the 2025 Angels roster, with the consensus looking like he will be non-tendered.

It stinks to be a Debbie Downer, it truly is cool that Adell and Canning got nominations. It's just important to be realistic, Angels fans.