2026 MLB Gold Glove winners: Pete Crow-Armstrong wins second honor, Red Sox and D-backs lead with three each

The best defenders in baseball were honored Sunday night as Major League Baseball handed out its Gold Gloves 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: 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,