Reds outfielder Aristides Aquino should be the runaway winner for a Gold Glove, but he won't be

How many third base coaches are going to continue to be be embarrassed by Cincinnati Reds right fielder Aristides Aquino? The Punisher got another one on Wednesday night.

J.T. Realmuto hit a rocket that bounced off the top of the wall in right field, just out of the reach of Aquino. But, no matter. As Rhys Hoskins rounded third base, a bullet from right field was on the money to catcher Austin Romine.

In fact, Romine had enough time to binge watch his favorite Netflix show before applying the tag to Hoskins. Of course that's being facetious, but Hoskins was out by 15 feet. It wasn't even close. The throw represented a league-leading 10th outfield assist from Aquino on the season.

Aristides Aquino has been the Reds best defender in 2022.

He may not be punishing baseballs at the plate anymore, but Aristides Aquino is making the job of a right fielder look easy. Aquino is tied with San Diego Padres' outfielder Jurickson Profar and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Hunter Renfroe for the most outfield assists this season. But there's a catch. Aquino is essentially posting these numbers as a part-time player.

Aquino has logged 339.1 innings in the outfield this season while appearing in 47 games. Profar has 111 starts and has racked up 971.2 innings in the outfield for the Padres. Renfroe has 82 starts with 719.1 innings played. Aquino has equalled the number of outfield assists as both Profar and Renfroe despite playing in less than half the number of innings.

In case you need further proof of just how effective Aristides Aquino has been this season, the Cincinnati Reds outfielder leads all outfielders with 18 defensive runs saved (DRS)according to Fielding Bible. His closest competitor is Kyle Tucker of the Houston Astros with 13. Profar and Renfroe each have 6 DRS.

Flipping over to Baseball Savant, the outs above average (OAA) statistic isn't as friendly, though Aquino does has 1 OAA. The Reds team-leader in that category is Albert Almora Jr. with 5 OAA, and there's a four-way tie for the league lead between Max Kepler, Brett Phillips, Jose Siri, and Daulton Varsho, all of whom have 10 OAA.

Reds OF Aristides Aquino deserves a Gold Glove, but he won't get it.

So why won't Aristides Aquino win a Gold Glove in 2022? Quite frankly it has nothing to do with his performance or the performance of his competitors. But Aquino will fall short of the qualifications. According to the Rawlings Gold Glove selection criteria, outfielders must have played in the field for at least 713 total innings through his team’s 141st game.

I'm not exactly sure when these specific parameters became part of the voting process, but it's a good bet that it came after Rafael Palmeiro won the Gold Glove in 1999 despite playing just 28 games at first base.

So don't get your hopes up, Reds fans. While we may marvel at the impressive defensive skills of The Punisher, he won't be receiving any love from the voters later this fall. However, with the lack of options heading into 2022, it would not be surprising in the least to see Aristides Aquino as the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day right fielder in 2023.