Miami Marlins disrespected in Gold Glove nominations

There is a player on the Miami Marlins who is an elite defender. I'm of course talking about second baseman Otto Lopez. Otto is a great defender, but he isn't a great offensive player. Still, offense isn't the subject of this article. It's defense and the Gold Glove nominations that MLB recently announced. Defense is clearly very important to The Fish under Peter Bendix.

Miami Marlins second baseman Otto Lopez deserves a Gold Glove nomination.

Gold Glove nominations are pretty important. They reward a player's defensive performance over the course of the season. Otto Lopez was not a great offensive player this season. He was just solid. He batted .270/.313/.377, with 6 home runs and 39 RBI in 117 games and 403 AB. He doesn't have power and it's unclear if he can consistently hit for decent contact, though it's very much possible. What's important is his elite defense at a premium defensive substitution. He was worth 1.2 dWAR.

Naturally, Otto was nominated for the National League Gold Glove award at second base right? Nope. The nomination went to three other players. The nominees are Bryson Stott of the Philadelphia Phillies; Brice Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers and Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Bryson Stott batted natted just .245/.315/.356, with 11 home runs and 57 RBI in 148 games and 506 AB. He was worth 2.5 WAR. His dWAR however matched Otto with 1.2. Brice Turang batted .254/.316/.349, with 7 home runs and 57 RBI in 155 games and 559 AB. He was worth 4.6 WAR and an elite 2.7 dWAR. I fully support Turang's nomination based on the numbers.

How about Ketel Marte? He batted .292/.372/.560, with 36 home runs and 95 RBI in 136 games and 504 AB. He was actually worth 1.3 dWAR and 6.8 WAR. It's clear to me that Otto Lopez should've received the nomination over Ketel Marte. He was clearly the better defender. It's very disappointing to see that the Miami Marlins are not getting the recognition that the team deserves. Otto Lopez deserves better for his great performance this season.