The winners of the 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove were announced Sunday night by Major League Baseball and, as expected, Cubs wunderkind Pete Crow-Armstrong took home his second straight National League Gold Glove in center field. PCA, who also won a Gold Glove in 2025 and is expected to be named the NL MVP in 2026, was the best defender in baseball this past season based on both the numbers and the eye test.
Here are the game's best defenders in 2026 according to Statcast's Fielding Runs Value, an all-encompassing metric that factors in range and arm, as well as blocking and framing for catchers:
- Pete Crow-Armstrong: +26 FRV
- JJ Wetherholt: +23 FRV
- Bobby Witt Jr.: +17 FRV
- Masyn Winn: +17 FRV
- Several tied with +16 FRV
Crow-Armstrong's +26 FRV is the fifth best in a single season since FRV launched in 2016 and the second best by a non-catcher, trailing only Nick Ahmed's +28 FRV season at shortstop in 2018.
Gold Gloves have be awarded since 1957 and are given to the best defensive player at each position in each league. That first year was one MLB-wide honor at each position. In 1958, Gold Gloves were split into AL and NL. Also, it used to be three outfielders per league regardless of exact position. Now the outfield spots are broken down into left field, center field, and right field.
Winners are determined through manager/coach voting (75%) and a statistical component (25%). Team employees can not vote for their own players.
While MLB announced "finalists" for each Gold Glove a few weeks back, remember that the voting was already complete and those finalists were simply the top three vote-getters at each position. This means, obviously, that postseason performance had no impact. Here now are the 2026 Gold Glove winners.
American League
| Position | Winners | Other finalists |
|---|---|---|
Catcher | ||
First base | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays) and Vinnie Pasquantino (Royals) | |
Second base | Michael Massey (Royals) and Chase Meidroth (White Sox) | |
Shortstop | Andrés Giménez (Blue Jays) and Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals) | |
Third base | Brooks Lee (Twins) and Nick Loftin (Royals) | |
Left field | Cody Bellinger (Yankees) | Wyatt Langford (Rangers) and Chandler Simpson (Rays) |
Center field | Ceddanne Rafaela (Red Sox) | Evan Carter (Rangers) and Steven Kwan (Guardians) |
Right field | Wilyer Abreu (Red Sox) | Nathan Lukes (Blue Jays) and Cam Smith (Astros) |
Pitcher | Tanner Bibee (Guardians) | Jacob deGrom (Rangers) and José Soriano (Angels/Blue Jays) |
Utility | Ezequiel Duran (Rangers) | José Caballero (Yankees) and Zach McKinstry (Tigers) |
National League
| Position | Winners | Other finalists |
|---|---|---|
Catcher | Freddy Fermin (Padres) and Luis Torrens (Mets) | |
First base | Ty France (Padres) and TJ Rumfield (Rockies) | |
Second base | Brandon Lowe (Pirates) and JJ Wetherholt (Cardinals) | |
Shortstop | Geraldo Perdomo (Diamondbacks) | Dansby Swanson (Cubs) and Masyn Winn (Cardinals) |
Third base | Alex Bregman (Cubs) | Max Muncy (Dodgers) and Javier Sanoja (Marlins) |
Left field | Jackson Chourio (Brewers) | Ian Happ (Cubs) and Daylen Lile (Nationals) |
Center field | Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs) | Michael Harris II (Braves) and Andy Pages (Dodgers) |
Right field | Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks) | Carson Benge (Mets) and Seiya Suzuki (Cubs) |
Pitcher | Nolan McLean (Mets) | Michael McGreevy (Cardinals) and Chris Sale (Braves) |
Utility | Mauricio Dubón (Braves) | Jared Triolo (Pirates) and Ildemaro Vargas (Diamondbacks) |
