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Rangers' Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Joey Gallo win Gold Gloves after defensive switches this season

Could Kiner do the same thing, down to a position switch, all over again in 2021?

Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Joey Gallo made defensive switches this season and took home Gold Gloves on Tuesday to show for it.

Here’s a question: Could Kiner-Falefa do the same thing, including another position switch, all over again in 2021?

A year ago at this time, Kiner-Falefa was coming out of a failed experiment to add catching to his repertoire to increase his versatility. Moved back to the infield for 2020, he forced his way into the starting lineup as a third baseman and then proceeded to lead the AL in defensive runs saved at the position with eight.

He was awarded a Gold Glove on Tuesday night over finalists Gio Urshela of the New York Yankees and Yoan Moncada of the Chicago White Sox.

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The Gold Glove this year was based not on voting among coaching staffs, but rather on a proprietary computer metric, the Society for American Baseball Research Defensive Index. The numbers said Kiner-Falefa and Gallo were the best at their positions.

Kiner won the third base job this spring — and again in summer camp — by outplaying two first basemen and forcing the Rangers to move Todd Frazier across the diamond.

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“I always had in my mind that I could win a Gold Glove,” Kiner-Falefa said. “When I got sent down as a catcher, I said I’m going to go win one in the field and it came true. It’s hard to believe. It’s a little crazy.”

Gallo, who has bounced from third to first to left and then center before landing in right, won based on two elements: He led the AL in runs saved in right (11) and because Mookie Betts moved to the NL. Betts won a Gold Glove for the fifth straight year Tuesday, but it was instead as a member of the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Gallo topped Anthony Santander of Baltimore and Clint Frazier of the New York Yankees to win his first.

The Gold Glove perhaps presents some degree of consolation for Gallo, who had a subpar offensive season.

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“I’ve always been told if you aren’t hitting, you better bust your butt on defense,” Gallo said. “I made sure to bust it every time I was out there. This game is two-sided. And I think a lot of times we focus on offense, but there are more ways to create value. You can win a lot of games by having a good defense. I want to show people I can be more than just a slugger. I’m a baseball player.”

Now comes the real trick for Kiner-Falefa: Potentially moving again and winning another, which would indeed be a feat. Only one player has ever won a Gold Glove at two infield positions: Placido Polanco. And he didn’t win them in consecutive years.

As the Rangers move full-on into a rebuild, they are publicly less committed to veteran middle infielders Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor than ever before. What remains uncertain at short, though, is: If not Andrus, then who?

“There are three positions in the infield that he could man, and I feel comfortable with him at all three of them,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said Tuesday of Kiner-Falefa. “I wouldn’t have any hesitation. The way he played third base, with his footwork and athleticism, was not the prototypical way a third baseman played. He attacked it. He played it like a shortstop. Athletically, he might be more suited for short than third. He came to camp wanting to prove he was our best infielder, and he was.”

Anderson Tejeda started 16 games at short in 2020 but is almost certain to begin 2021 in the minor leagues. His MLB time this year was a product of being on the 40-man roster and there being no minor league season. He needs a bit more refinement.

Kiner-Falefa started 15 games at short, and he might be a better shortstop than third baseman. He didn’t make an error in his 43 chances there in 2020. He added four runs saved at short to give him 12 total runs saved, second among all MLB players behind Colorado’s Nolan Arenado.

Such a move might also make sense with the future in mind. The Rangers' top prospect is Josh Jung, a third baseman. He very well may make his major league debut there sometime in 2021.

Figuring out if they have a long-term shortstop in Kiner-Falefa would also make sense with a lollapalooza of a free agent class at shortstop coming up after the 2021 season. Among those who will be available: Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez and all-time Globe Life Field home run leader Corey Seager. Signing any of them would require more than a $20 million commitment. It might make some sense to find out if they’ve got a lower-cost, effective alternative beforehand.

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And, at the same time, he might just have a chance to make a little history.

“I want to win a Gold Glove every year,” Kiner-Falefa said when asked if he was up for the challenge of winning at different positions. “It doesn’t matter what position I’m playing.”

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