Edman is the Cardinals’ only Gold Glove finalist as Arenado’s streak ends at 10 straight

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - Nolan Arenado’s streak of consecutive Gold Glove Awards has come to an end.

The Cardinals’ third baseman, who began his MLB career by winning 10 straight Gold Gloves at third base, was not listed among the finalists for this year’s version of the award when Rawlings released the lists on Wednesday afternoon. Arenado’s streak falls short of the all-time record as fellow third baseman Brooks Robinson claimed 16 Gold Gloves in a row from 1960 to 1975.

Arenado wasn’t alone in the Cardinals’ drop-off for Gold Glove consideration. A year after winning their second straight team-wide Gold Glove Award, the Cardinals garnered only one Gold Glove finalist in this year’s announcement. Tommy Edman is up for the utility Gold Glove for the second time, named as a finalist alongside Mookie Betts and Ha-Seong Kim.

The Cardinals had two individual winners in 2022, with Brendan Donovan beating out Edman for the utility award and Arenado earning his 10th in a row at third base. In 2021, the Cardinals had a league-high five Gold Glove winners. But the defensive acumen of the club seemed to decline during the Cardinals’ disappointing 2023 campaign.

Arenado started slow out of the gates defensively in 2023. Despite a notable turnaround and the return of his customary highlight-reel plays in the second half, his defensive metrics never completely recovered to the level of his competitors at the hot corner.

Four-time Gold Glover Paul Goldschmidt also suffered a sharp decline in his standing in the defensive metrics and was not named a finalist at first base. This marks Goldy’s first time being absent from the finalists list since 2018.

Tommy Edman is the only chance to carry the torch for the Cardinals, who have won at least one Gold Glove in each of the previous five seasons. 2017 was the last year in which no Cardinals were honored as a Gold Glove Award winner.

Edman entered the 2023 season expecting to draw the bulk of his defensive opportunities at shortstop but the re-emergence of Paul DeJong early in the year moved Oli Marmol to shift Edman to the other side of the second base bag with frequency. Edman won the Gold Glove as the Cardinals’ primary second baseman in 2021.

As injuries mounted in the St. Louis outfield, Edman shifted roles yet again, seeing considerable time as the Cardinal center fielder. The career-infielder took to the position splendidly, showcasing elite range and playmaking ability in the outfield to earn consideration as a utility Gold Glove finalist in the second year since the award’s inception.