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Colorado Rockies: Would the dropoff be that bad between Nolan Arenado to Josh Donaldson?

By Kevin Larson

DENVER, CO - APRIL 7: Nolan Arenado #28 of the Colorado Rockies stands on the field after being stranded at third base in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on April 7, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Dodgers defeated the Rockies 12-6 to sweep the three game series.(Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 7: Nolan Arenado #28 of the Colorado Rockies stands on the field after being stranded at third base in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on April 7, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Dodgers defeated the Rockies 12-6 to sweep the three game series.(Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – APRIL 06: Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies receives the Rawlings Gold Glove and Platinum Glove Award before the Rockies home opener against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field on April 6, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – APRIL 06: Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies receives the Rawlings Gold Glove and Platinum Glove Award before the Rockies home opener against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field on April 6, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Now let’s focus on fielding. It’s what sets apart Nolan from the rest of the Third Basemen in the MLB and would undoubtedly be the area where the Rockies would most miss him.

In terms of DRS, Nolan has accumulated 53 DRS from 2016 to 2019. That ranks 2nd in the MLB. Donaldson actually ranks 3rd in that same time span, though his DRS only totals to 21.

By UZR, Nolan ranks 3rd at 26.1. Donaldson ranks 7th at 6.6.

And by Fangraphs’ DEF (Defensive Runs Above Average), Arenado and Donaldson again rank 3rd and 7th with 35.3 and 13.0 respectively.

The biggest thing about Nolan’s fielding, though, is all the flashy plays he makes on seemingly impossible opportunities. This is captured fairly well in Fangraphs’ Inside Edge Fielding metrics, which quite simply measure the percentage of balls fielded by each fielder that are deemed Routine Plays (90-100% likelihood of fielding the batted ball), Likely Plays (60-90%), Even Plays (40-60%), Unlikely Plays (10-40%) and Remote Plays (1-10%).

From 2016-2019, Nolan has made 11% of all Remote Plays. That ranks 2nd among qualified fielders in the MLB behind Matt Chapman (who’s played 2,000 less innings at 3B than Nolan in that time span). The next closest to Nolan is Anthony Rendon at 4.7%. Donaldson ranks 6th overall at 2.6%.

This is going to be the area where Nolan’s absence would be noticed the most. In 2016, 2017 and 2019 (excluding Donaldson’s injured season) Arenado accumulated 5.8 dWAR per Baseball Reference. Donaldson accumulated 2.6 dWAR.

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