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Category: Good Defensive Team?

  • Are The Cubs A Good Defensive Team?

    Are The Cubs A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good? To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 9th

    Strengths

    The Cubs have a lot of defensive strengths, arguably as many as any team in MLB.

    Pete Crow-Armstrong had an abundance of excellent defensive plays and throws in center field last year. He finished tied for 7th with 11 Runs Saved, contended for a Fielding Bible Award, and expectations are high for him in 2025.

    Dansby Swanson finished 2nd in the range component of Runs Saved among shortstops last season, one year after winning a Fielding Bible Award. 

    Swanson’s double play partner Nico Hoerner has been consistently above-average at second base. He’s averaged almost 9 Runs Saved per 1,000 innings there over the last four years.

    Ian Happ has won three straight Gold Gloves in left field, where he ranks second in Runs Saved to Steven Kwan since the start of 2022. Happ has ably braved the elements and frequently sacrificed his body to make good plays.

    Kyle Tucker comes over from Houston to play right field. Tucker has an MLB-best 30 Runs Saved there over the last four seasons, though a chunk of that is tied to an MLB-leading 7 home run robberies. Tucker goes from one of the easiest right fields to steal a home run in Minute Maid Park to a home park in which it’s impossible to rob a homer, Wrigley Field.

    Weaknesses

    Cubs pitchers finished with -9 Runs Saved and the worst range numbers of any pitching staff last season. Their catcher, Miguel Amaya, had good Runs Saved numbers overall. Most of that came from pitch blocking. He threw out 11 of 89 runners attempting to steal (12%).

    Other Things To Know

    A subtle but notable pickup for the Cubs this winter was utility man Jon Berti, who can play anywhere in the infield or outfield if needed (best position by Runs Saved is third base, worst is center field). He’ll be a useful fill-in.

    Matt Shaw’s development at third base is to be determined. Shaw projects as a 55 Overall Future Value on defense from FanGraphs, which praised his “enthusiastic understanding of defense.” Our numbers had him with -6 Runs Saved in the minors last season.

    Are The Cubs A Good Defensive Team?

    Yes and they could be as good as any team in the National League defensively. They should have an excellent outfield and a solid infield.

  • Are The Cardinals A Good Defensive Team?

    Are The Cardinals A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good? To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 13th

    Team Strengths

    If Nolan Arenado is still on the team, he’s a strength, though not close to what he once was. Pre-pandemic, he’d recorded eight straight seasons of double-digit Runs Saved. Post-pandemic, he’s had seasons of 9, 20, 0, and 6, with the latter being boosted largely by his play in September.

    Masyn Winn led shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved and won a Fielding Bible Award last season. Though not every defensive metric holds him in that high a regard, we view Winn as excellent, and particularly great at turning double plays.

    Michael Siani is going to have to earn a spot in center field, after a year in which he hit .228 with a .570 OPS. But Siani has the potential to be spectacular. He had 8 Runs Saved there last season and was particularly good at chasing down deep fly balls.

    Team Weaknesses

    With Willson Contreras now entrenched at first base (where he’s an unknown, with only 11 MLB games), Ivan Herrera is the starting catcher. Herrera threw out 2 of 57 runners trying to steal against him, which accounted for almost all of his -7 Runs Saved. His one plus is that he’s a good pitch blocker.

    Jordan Walker has not been good in either of his two years in right field, tallying -13 Runs Saved. Same for Nolan Gorman at second base in his three years (-11 Runs Saved). 

    Other Things To Know

    Besides Contreras and how he handles first base, a wild card for the Cardinals will be how Lars Nootbaar fares in center field. In 109 career games in center field, he’s basically been league-average. He’s been very good in right field, with 13 Runs Saved in 213 games.

    One of the reasons the Cardinals finished 13th in Runs Saved was defensive positioning. They netted the 3rd-most Runs Saved of any team in Outfield Positioning area, but that’s not something they can count on again (-1 in 2023). If we looked solely at Runs Saved from defensive skill, they ranked 17th.

    Are The Cardinals A Good Defensive Team?

    If they trade Arenado and don’t play Siani much, it’s going to be a hard sell to say they’re a good defensive team (unless they get a great defender back in trade). Average, probably. Good, probably not. But if they keep both of them, and Arenado plays to past form, they could be pretty good.

  • Are The White Sox A Good Defensive Team?

    Are The White Sox A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 30th

    Team Strengths

    The White Sox could  have a good defensive outfield.

    Michael A. Taylor had 12 Runs Saved in center field last year for the Pirates and topped that total in two of the three years prior to that. He’s an excellent defensive center fielder. He just needs to hit enough to get into the lineup.

    Most Defensive Runs Saved – Center Field

    Last 4 Seasons

    Player Runs Saved
    Michael A. Taylor 59
    Kevin Kiermaier 44
    Daulton Varsho 37

     Dominic Fletcher’s defense in right field was one of the brightest spots of a dismal season. He had 15 Good Fielding Plays and 10 Runs Saved in only 43 games there. For context, only one right fielder had more Good Fielding Plays than Fletcher did.

    Luis Robert Jr. was a good center fielder as recently as two years ago and even for a miserable team, he still managed 1 Run Saved in 97 games there last year. Similarly, Mike Tauchman has a good track record and can play all three spots.

    Team Weaknesses

    Left fielder Andrew Benintendi’s best days seem to be behind him. He had -13 Runs Saved last year, the worst total of anyone at the position. Benintendi is going to miss the start of the season with a fractured hand.

    Catcher Korey Lee had a rough go of it last season, tallying -10 Runs Saved there and fared particularly poorly in our pitch framing stat, Strike Zone Runs Saved. 

    The rest of what the White Sox have, with players like Andrew Vaughn and Miguel Vargas and Brandon Drury are mostly average at best from a statistical perspective.

    Other Things To Know

    The White Sox are probably going to eventually play a rookie at shortstop full-time in Colson Montgomery. In three seasons in the minors, he totaled -30 Runs Saved. FanGraphs gives him a Fielding grade of 30 with a Future Value of 40 on the 20 to 80 scale. That’s not great. For now, they’re gonna probably start Josh Rojas at shortstop. He had -13 Runs Saved in a short stint there in 2021 (though he’s not bad at third base). Not great either.

    Are The White Sox A Good Defensive Team? No, but given that their outfield should be much better than the -40 Runs Saved in 2024, they may not be as bad defensively as a team last season. But it’s still a long climb to just being average. 

  • Are the Rockies A Good Defensive Team?

    Are the Rockies A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Steven King/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 14th

    Team Strengths

    Defense is what the Rockies do best and that starts with three players: center fielder Brenton Doyle, third baseman Ryan McMahon, and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar.

    Doyle is the reigning Fielding Bible Award winner at his position. In his first two MLB seasons, he’s posted the two best defensive seasons by a Rockies center fielder since Runs Saved was first tracked in 2003. He covers a lot of ground and he can throw with a velocity in the high 90s.

    McMahon has four straight seasons of at least 10 Runs Saved at third base and finished in the top four in Runs Saved there in each of those seasons. Simply put, he’s an excellent defensive player.

    Tovar is one of baseball’s best defensive shortstops. He’s saved 12 and 10 runs respectively in his first two seasons as a full-time player.

    Defensive Runs Saved Leaders

    Shortstops – Last 2 Years Third Base – Last 4 Years
    1. Dansby Swanson 1. Ke’Bryan Hayes
    2. Ezequiel Tovar 2. Ryan McMahon
    3. Anthony Volpe 3. Matt Chapman

    Additionally, Michael Toglia put up good defensive numbers in his first year as a full-time first baseman. Toglia rated as pretty good at getting to balls hit in the ‘34’ hole and finished with 10 Runs Saved, which ranked 2nd at the position.

    Team Weaknesses

    The Rockies signed Thairo Estrada to play second base this offseason. By our measures, he hasn’t been great there in two of the last three years, with Runs Saved totals of -12, 1, and -7. 

    In 2021, we’d have listed catcher Jacob Stallings as a strength, but his numbers have faltered the last three seasons and look similar to Estrada’s (-9, 0, and -6).

    Other Things To Know

    Nolan Jones looks like he could be a regular starter in left field. Which Jones will the Rockies get? The one who had 8 Runs Saved there in 2023 or the one who had -4 in 2024? Jones has a high-value arm, but he’s got to find a way to get to more balls in Colorado’s spacious outfield.

    Are The Rockies A Good Defensive Team?

    Yes. It wouldn’t be a stretch for the Rockies to have three Gold Glove winners this season. They’re so good where they’re good that it makes up for any deficiencies elsewhere. Now, about the rest of the team …

  • Are the Marlins A Good Defensive Team?

    Are the Marlins A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 27th

    Team Strengths

    Second baseman Otto Lopez had 9 Runs Saved in 103 games at second base. He’s the best defensive player in the starting lineup.

    Catcher Nick Fortes has tallied 5 Runs Saved in each of the last two years as the primary starter. Pitch blocking is his area of expertise. Likely backup Liam Hicks has 5 Runs Saved from the 106 games we tracked of his in the minors.

    Leaders In Runs Saved Via Good Fielding Plays – Catchers

    Last 2 Seasons 

    1. Nick Fortes
    T2. Gabriel Moreno
    T2. J.T. Realmuto
    4. Freddy Fermin

    * Primary good fielding play for catcher = blocking a potential wild pitch

    Team Weaknesses

    The Marlins don’t have any other starting position players who you can say with confidence are going to have a positive Runs Saved at season’s end.

    And they’ve got some weaknesses, among them the left side of the infield with shortstop Xavier Edwards (-8 Runs Saved last season) and third baseman Connor Norby (-5 Runs Saved in 30 games). FanGraphs has Norby as a 30 fielder on the 20-80 scouting scale.

    Other Things To Know

    In some ways this is a hard team to get a read on. They have only one position player with at least three years of service time on the FanGraphs version of their projected roster. 

    Are the Marlins A Good Defensive Team?

    No. There just isn’t a lot to get excited about here at the moment.

  • Are The Reds A Good Defensive Team?

    Are The Reds A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 28th

    Team Strengths

    Matt McLain replaces defensively-challenged Jonathan India at second base, which should be an upgrade. In a small sample (37 games), McLain had 0 Runs Saved at second base, but in a little bit larger sample, he had 4 Runs Saved at shortstop.

    Despite -8 Runs Saved last season, Austin Hays’ defense in left field could be a strength now that he’s past a calf injury and kidney infection. From 2020 to 2023, Hays had 19 Runs Saved in the equivalent of about two full seasons in left field.

    Jose Trevino was added this offseason to improve the Reds backup catcher spot. His 45 Runs Saved over the last 4 seasons lead all catchers and he’s an excellent pitch framer. He should come into any game with a small lead entering the 8th or 9th inning given how much better he is defensively than anyone else the Reds have.

    Most Defensive Runs Saved – Catchers

    Last 4 Seasons

    Player Runs Saved
    Jose Trevino 45
    Alejandro Kirk 36
    Austin Hedges 36
    Patrick Bailey 33
    Gabriel Moreno 32
    Cal Raleigh 32

     Team Weaknesses

    The Reds need Tyler Stephenson’s bat, as his 2024 OPS as a catcher was more than  250 points higher than his backup, Luke Maile. But Stephenson could stand to improve behind the plate, where his -19 Runs Saved over the last two seasons ranked 3rd-worst among catchers. 

    Jeimer Candelario is penciled in at third base, where for his career he’s at -25 Runs Saved. Center field is another position where the numbers don’t look good. T.J. Friedl has -10 Runs Saved in the equivalent of about 1 1/2 seasons for his career.

    Other Things To Know

    We didn’t list Elly De La Cruz as a strength or a weakness. For those unfamiliar, De La Cruz is among the players on whom Defensive Runs Saved and MLB’s Fielding Run Value (an offshoot of Outs Above Average) differ most strongly.

    De La Cruz totaled -2 Runs Saved last season, as the stat recognized his excellence on plays in the 56 hole, but penalized him significantly for failing to make as many plays as expected on balls hit up the middle. He also didn’t rate well at turning double plays.

    At the moment, he’s a high-risk, high-reward defensive player who will make both great plays and frustrating mistakes. He has the skills to be quite good. Maybe this year his Runs Saved will show that.

    Are The Reds A Good Defensive Team?

    No, because the positives don’t offset the negatives and because they have one good starting defender at the four up-the-middle positions.

  • Are the Rays A Good Defensive Team?

    Are the Rays A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: Tied for 21st

    Team Strengths

    The Rays have an abundance of talented middle infielders. Shortstop Taylor Walls is challenged as a hitter(.188 BA in 1,080 career at-bats) but his terrific glove keeps him on the field. He ranked 2nd in Runs Saved at shortstop last season despite ranking 28th in innings played.

    Most Defensive Runs – Shortstops in 2024

    Player Runs Saved
    Masyn Winn 14
    Taylor Walls 12
    Brayan Rocchio 11
    Zach Neto 11

    Once Ha-Seong Kim gets fully healthy from October surgery to fix a torn labrum, he’ll be a plus defender wherever the Rays place him. He saved 10 runs at second base in 2023, so he’d be an easy fit there.

    Team Weaknesses

    With the trade of center fielder Jose Siri to the Mets, the Rays don’t have much else to be excited about defensively. The best Rays defenders are in the minor leagues, as you’ll read below.

    Danny Jansen is projected to be the starting catcher but the formerly good ex-Blue Jay totaled -11 Runs Saved last season and rated poorly at both strike throwing and stopping basestealers.

    Yandy Diaz is a much, much better hitter than fielder He finished with -5 Runs Saved at first base last season, a dip from 0 in 2023. In 2022, he totaled -14 at third base.

    Other Things To Know

    It looks like Jonny DeLuca is going to play center field rather than a corner spot. Of the current Rays projected outfield starters, DeLuca would seem to have the highest ceiling given that he’s one of the fastest players in baseball, which allows him to chase down a lot of balls. But being a great center fielder is difficult given how good even an average center fielder is. DeLuca had -1 Run Saved in about a quarter-season in center last year and posted 6 Runs Saved in slightly more time in right field.

    The Rays have two of the best defensive prospects in the minor leagues, though you may not see them this season. Shortstop Carson Williams tied for 2nd among minor league shortstops in Runs Saved in 2024. The Rays have given him a full year at all three levels he’s played at, so he might spend the whole season or close to it in Triple-A.

    First baseman Tre’ Morgan finished with 1 Run Saved there last season but got an 80 future grade on the 20-80 scouting scale in FanGraphs’ evaluation of the top 100 minor league prospects. He’s still a bit away from the majors, as he’s played only 21 games above A-ball.

    Are The Rays A Good Defensive Team?

    Not now, but in a year they could be a lot closer to being a good one than they are at the moment.

  • Are the Pirates A Good Defensive Team?

    Are the Pirates A Good Defensive Team?

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: T-22nd

    Team Strengths

    Ke’Bryan Hayes has recorded at least 10 Defensive Runs Saved in each of the last four years. He was our 2023 Defensive Player of the Year and though he slipped to 10 Runs Saved last season, he still ranked tied for 2nd at the position (even though injuries kept him below 100 games).

    Most Defensive Runs Saved – 3rd Base

    Last 4 Seasons

    Player Runs Saved
    Ke’Bryan Hayes 72
    Ryan McMahon 50
    Matt Chapman 40
    Nolan Arenado 35

    Next to Hayes at shortstop will be Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had 12 Runs Saved there in 2021 and 10 more in 2022, but played only 44 games there the last two seasons. Kiner-Falefa can also play third base and second base if needed and has a pretty good stat-based reputation at each position.

    Jared Triolo won the Gold Glove for utility players last season. His best position last year was second base where he saved 6 runs in 47 games. He also has 6 Runs Saved in 96 games at third base over the last two seasons. Another utility player, Adam Frazier, has five seasons with at least 4 Runs Saved at second base (including 2024 with the Royals).

    Team Weaknesses

    Oneil Cruz got his feet wet in center field with 23 games last season. He had -3 Runs Saved, but more notably 9 Misplays & Errors (a high total for a small span of games). Cruz replaces Michael A. Taylor, one of the better defensive center fielders in the game, albeit with a limited bat.

    First baseman Endy Rodriguez doesn’t have a lot of experience at the position, so we’re a little wary of him, though he does have the capability to play multiple other spots, including catcher.

    Nick Gonzales is slated to be the starting second baseman. The Pirates have better defensive options than him, so we’ll see how long he lasts there. He had -4 Runs Saved in 85 games last season.

    Other Things To Know

    With the signing of Tommy Pham, who can play an average left field, Bryan Reynolds is probably going to play right field, the position he’s played the least of the three outfield spots in his time in the major leagues. Reynolds has 4 Runs Saved in 53 games there, though all those Runs Saved came in 2019.

    Are The Pirates A Good Defensive Team?

    The Pirates have some good defensive players but I wouldn’t yet call them a good defensive team. The loss of Taylor is going to be hard to make up and center field is a tough position to break someone in at (see Jazz Chisholm among others).

  • Are The Brewers A Good Defensive Team?

    Are The Brewers A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good?

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 4th

    Team Strengths

    Brice Turang led second basemen in Runs Saved in 2024, and though he didn’t win a Fielding Bible Award, he won the Platinum Glove for the National League. Turang has a great highlight-reel collection of difficult plays, particularly those in which he went to his right to take away a base hit.

    The Brewers have four very good defensive outfielders between Gold Glove winner Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, and Blake Perkins, though Perkins is out until May with a fractured shin. 

    Brewers right fielders led the majors in Defensive Runs Saved last season and their center fielders finished 3rd. 

    The team also knows what it’s getting from catcher William Contreras, who is a good pitch framer and saved 5 and 6 runs the last two seasons.

    Notable Brewers Defensive Runs Saved Ranks – 2024

    Position Rank
    Right Field 1st
    Second Base 1st
    Center Field 3rd
    Shortstop T-29th

    Team Weaknesses

    Christian Yelich is the weak spot in the defense. Yelich has posted a negative Runs Saved in each of the last five seasons in left field, including last year when he played only 48 games. As the roster currently stands, he’s likely to DH, so his defense shouldn’t impact the team too much.

    Defense has never really been Rhys Hoskins’ forte and he limited the damage to -3 Runs Saved last season. Hoskins has had seasons with a positive Runs Saved in the past so he’s not necessarily a huge liability.

    Other Things To Know

    The Brewers actually lost the weakest link in last year’s defense when Willy Adames, who plummeted to a positional worst -16 Runs Saved at shortstop, signed with the Giants. 

    They’ll move Joey Ortiz from third base, where he was pretty good, to shortstop, which was his primary position in the minors. Ortiz had a minor league-best 14 Runs Saved at shortstop in 2022, though he dipped to -2 in 2023. Oliver Dunn replaces Ortiz at third base. He looked alright in 27 games there last year, with no errors and only 1 Defensive Misplay.

    Are The Brewers A Good Defensive Team?

    Yes, the Brewers have a good mix of athleticism and skill. They were the most skilled defensive team in the NL last season and though they might not rack up home run robberies like they did last season (when they had an MLB-best 10 and Perkins had 5 of them), if healthy, their Runs Saved total should be among the best in the majors.   

  • Are The Blue Jays A Good Defensive Team?

    Are The Blue Jays A Good Defensive Team?

    Photo: Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire

    Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good? 

    To see the full series, click here.

    2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 1st

    Team Strengths

    When healthy, Daulton Varsho is the best defensive outfielder in baseball and Defensive Runs Saved doesn’t have it as particularly close over the last three seasons. He’s recovered from shoulder surgery more quickly than expected, and is currently functioning as a designated hitter in spring training. We’ll find out if that injury cuts into how aggressively he goes crashing into fences to make catches and how he throws once he returns to the outfield. 

    While the Blue Jays wait for Varsho, Myles Straw, a Gold Glove winner two years ago, or Joey Loperfido (5 Runs Saved in left field) could take his place.

    The Blue Jays traded for the best defensive second baseman, Andrés Giménez, who is a wizard when it comes to making plays. He’s still in his prime at age 26 and is the runaway leader in Runs Saved at the position over the last three seasons.

    Ernie Clement isn’t Matt Chapman but by Runs Saved he was pretty good. He led all American League third basemen with 9 Runs Saved last season and was also pretty good at shortstop too.

    Alejandro Kirk is good at a lot of things that catchers do – pitch framing, pitch blocking and throwing out basestealers. He’s first among catchers in Runs Saved over the last three seasons.

    Blue Jays Players Leading MLB in Defensive Runs Saved – Last 3 Seasons

    Player Position
    Daulton Varsho CF
    Andres Gimenez 2B
    Alejandro Kirk C

    Team Weaknesses

    The Blue Jays have a few players who fall into the category of “They were at one time a decent defender but maybe not anymore.”

    That encompasses first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., shortstop Bo Bichette, right fielder George Springer, and left fielder Anthony Santander among others. Each of them finished 2024 with a negative Defensive Runs Saved but has much better seasons in their respective histories.

    Other Things To Consider

    Last year’s midseason trade of Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Pirates was a notable one because of how few players have the defensive versatility that he has. IKF had good Runs Saved totals at second base, shortstop and third base. Clement is the closest thing the team has to that at the moment.

    Are The Blue Jays A Good Defensive Team?

    Yes, particularly at three spots up the middle. Are they still best-in-baseball good? They could be, particularly if Varsho came back performing at a similar skill level to the last couple of years.