Major League Baseball announced the 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners on Sunday, honoring the top defensive players across both leagues. The announcement featured nine first-time winners for the second consecutive year, with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox leading all clubs with three honorees apiece.
Red Sox and Diamondbacks Lead Club Honors
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners were revealed following the conclusion of the season, maintaining a recent trend of defensive parity across the league. Both the Boston Red Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks secured three awards each, pacing all major league franchises. For Boston, center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela earned his second straight Gold Glove, while teammate Wilyer Abreu captured his third consecutive honor in right field. Third baseman Caleb Durbin rounded out the Red Sox class as a first-time winner.
The 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Finalists – AL Catcher – Dillon Dingler, Brandon Valenzuela, Austin Wells#RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/pxZKq54Tfg
Arizona matched that total behind first-time winners Geraldo Perdomo at shortstop and Corbin Carroll in right field, alongside veteran catcher Gabriel Moreno, who secured his second career defensive honor and his first since 2023. Moreno’s selection places him in rare company, as he joins Joe Mauer as the only catchers in history to win a Gold Glove and a batting title in the same season. The Arizona catcher finished the year with a .311/.388/.486 slash line, hitting 16 home runs and driving in 83 runs. With Carroll and Perdomo also winning, the trio became the third group of Diamondbacks players to take home the award in the same year.
Voting Mechanics and Financial Bonuses
The selection process combines evaluations from two distinct groups within the sport. Since 2013, the voting has been factored with a Society for American Baseball Research defensive index, which comprises about 25 percent of the total.
Individual player achievements also carried direct financial incentives for several top performers.
Veteran Milestones and Historic Recognition
While first-time winners accounted for nine of the recipients, established veterans continued their defensive dominance. Christian Walker claimed his fourth career Gold Glove, adding to honors he won from 2022 to 2024, tying him with Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson, who also secured his fourth career award after previous wins in 2018, 2019, and 2025. Braves utility man Mauricio Dubón won his third Gold Glove, having previously claimed the utility honor in 2023 and 2025.
Dingler’s selection marks his second consecutive Gold Glove, making him the fourth Detroit player to win the award multiple times and the first since Iván Rodríguez in 2007. Bregman became just the second Cubs third baseman to win the award, joining Ron Santo, while Crow-Armstrong secured his second straight victory in center field.
McLean joined Ron Darling as the only Mets winners at the pitching position, while also standing as the club’s first winner at any position since center fielder Juan Lagares won in 2014. For Turang and Chourio, the awards followed a season in which they helped lead the Brewers to their first World Series title in franchise history by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games.
In the outfield, Bellinger returned to the winner’s circle after previously winning as a right fielder with the Dodgers in 2019, this time taking home the left field honor for the Yankees. Carroll led all right fielders with 10 Outs Above Average, ranking in the 95th percentile, and became the fifth Diamondbacks outfielder to win the award. Dubón manned second base, third base, shortstop, left field, and center field during the season, finishing in the 91st percentile with six Outs Above Average to maintain his unique hold on the utility category since its introduction.
At first base, Walker led all players at his position with 12 Outs Above Average and 12 in overall fielding run value, while ranking second in Defensive Runs Saved with 11. Meanwhile, Rafaela continued Boston’s strong presence by securing center field honors for the second straight season, sharing the spotlight with teammates Abreu and Durbin as the Red Sox tied Arizona for the most selections across the league.
The complete roster of 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove winners spans both leagues, highlighting both entrenched defensive stars and emerging talent across every position on the diamond.
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