Chicago White Sox Second Baseman Nicky Lopez Named AL Gold Glove Finalist

Nicky Lopez thrived in the field with the Chicago White Sox this season, earning a spot as a Gold Glove finalist despite his lackluster production at the plate.

Jul 23, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Chicago White Sox short stop Nicky Lopez (8) make a play on a ground ball during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. | Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

The Chicago White Sox didn't exactly have an award-worthy year in 2024, but one of their players remains in the running for one of MLB's top honors.

Second baseman Nicky Lopez has been named a finalist for a Gold Glove Award, Rawlings announced Tuesday morning. Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien and Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez are the other two American League finalists alongside Lopez.

This marks the second time in his career that Lopez has been up for a Gold Glove. He was also a finalist back in 2020, when he was still suiting up for the Kansas City Royals.

Lopez may have only hit .241 with one home run, 21 RBI, a .606 OPS and a 0.2 WAR across 124 games in 2024, but the 29-year-old showed enough in the field to garner some praise for his defensive efforts.

Over the course of his 83 appearances at second base and his 45 outings at shortstop, Lopez committed just four errors. That gave the 29-year-old a fielding percentage of 99.1% on the whole this season, better than both Semien and Giménez.

However, the advanced stats aren't quite as kind to Lopez.

Lopez ranked in the 74th percentile in Fielding Run Value and the 88th percentile in Outs Above Average, per Baseball Savant. His defensive WAR was -0.5, while he had -1 defensive run saved at second base and -9 defensive runs saved at shortstop.

Both of those marks pale in comparison the the figures that Semien and Giménez posted, putting Lopez at a disadvantage among the finalists. Semien was the AL's Gold Glove second baseman in 2021, while Giménez took home the trophy at the position in both 2022 and 2023.

Lopez is the only White Sox player up for a Gold Glove this season. Center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who won a Gold Glove in 2020 and was named a finalist in 2023, did not make the cut after appearing in just 97 games in the field in 2024.

The 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove Finalists - AL Second Base - Nicky Lopez, Marcus Semien, Andrés Giménez#RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/gp3CiOuqIO

— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 15, 2024

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