SAN FRANCISCO -- Brandon Crawford is facing some tough competition as he attempts to win a fourth consecutive Gold Glove Award.
The Giants shortstop was announced Thursday as one of three NL finalists for the award, along with Arizona's Nick Ahmed and San Diego's Freddy Galvis.
Giants veteran Buster Posey is a finalist at catcher.
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Crawford has been head and shoulders above the crowd in the NL in recent years, but Ahmed has a legitimate shot at ending his run. The Diamondback led NL shortstops with 21 Defensive Runs Saved. Crawford had his usual highlight-filled year but finished fifth with five Defensive Runs Saved, per FanGraphs.
When the last SABR ratings -- which go into the final vote -- were released, Ahmed ranked first and Crawford was fourth.
Posey won the award in 2016, but he is a long shot this time. He started just 85 games behind the plate before having season-ending hip surgery. Still, his nomination shows the kind of respect he has around the league.
Posey beat out several other intriguing candidates despite being limited all season by a labrum injury. Yadier Molina of the Cardinals and Manny Piña of the Brewers are the other finalists.
San Francisco Giants
Brandon Belt hoped this would be the year he broke through and won his first Gold Glove, and he led NL first basemen in most defensive metrics for much of the season. When the last SABR ratings were released in August, Belt had a clear lead. He was at 6.9 SDI, which pleased him, well ahead of Joey Votto (5.7).
But Belt was hampered by a knee injury down the stretch and ended up starting just 97 games at first base. Votto, Freddie Freeman and Anthony Rizzo are the three nominees in the National League.