Seattle Mariners Second Baseman Named Gold Glove Award Finalist

The Seattle Mariners defense was the worst in the major leagues this season according to several statistics, including outs above average (OAA).

According to Baseball Savant, the Mariners finished with -58 OAA, which was ranked 30th in the major leagues with the next-closes team being the Athletics at -44 OAA.

However, there was one bright spot on Seattle's defense this year, that being second baseman Cole Young. And now, the 23-year-old is up for the first major award of his big league career.

The MLB released its list of Gold Glove finalists Wednesday. Among the three finalists named for second base were Young. The other two finalists named at the position were Chase Meidroth (Chicago White Sox) and Michael Massey (Kansas City Royals).

Young entered the season as the de facto starter at second base after taking over the position upon his major league call-up May 31, 2025. He was benched later in the year due to struggles and the position was taken over by veteran Jorge Polanco.

The second-year infielder finished his second year in the major leagues with a .990 fielding percentage at second base with six errors in 626 total chances across 1,350.1 innings. He helped turn 79 double plays.

Young's fielding percentage was a .006 improvement from his rookie year. His innings played, total chances and double plays turned were all more than twice the amount of his rookie year, and he committed just two more errors despite all the other fielding opportunities than his rookie year (four errors in 2025).

There are multiple key stats often used when determining the value of defense that paint a polarizing look at Young's defense, which could affect whether or not he receives the Gold Glove.

Young finished the year with 16 defensive runs saved (DRS), which ranked as the top among second basemen in the American League and eighth in the majors. He also finished with a 2.3 defensive bWAR (Baseball Reference WAR), which was second among all major league second basemen.

However, Baseball Savant had Young with -6 OAA, which was tied for 35th among 42 qualifying second basemen in the majors. The 23-year-old finished with a -5 fielding run value, which placed him among the 18th percentile of the major leagues, per Baseball Savant.

If Young does win the Gold Glove, he would become the third player in three years to win the award. Catcher Cal Raleigh and utility player Dylan Moore both won Gold Gloves at the conclusion of the 2024 season.