Texas Rangers third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been named the American League Gold Glove winner for third base, it was announced tonight. It is Kiner-Falefa’s first Gold Glove.
IKF was originally drafted as a slick fielding infielder, converted to catching, spent much of 2018 and 2019 in the majors catching, and then moved back to the infield late in 2019. He won the third base job with a strong spring training and summer camp, which resulted in offseason acquisition Todd Frazier sliding over to first base.
Kiner-Falefa was at or near the top of pretty much every defensive metric at third base, and his win is very much deserved.