The Chicago Cubs are making history with their gloves.
That’s the real story in 2026, because this isn’t about a slugging spree or a stolen-base binge. Chicago’s edge has come from a defense that keeps stacking up run-saving plays and, by the numbers, is pushing toward something no team has done in the Statcast era.
The headline metric is Fielding Run Value, and the Cubs are sitting on top of MLB by a wide margin. Entering play Tuesday with 43 games left in the regular season, Chicago owned a 61 FRV.
The next closest team, the Toronto Blue Jays, were 32 runs back. Since FRV was introduced in 2018, the best single-season team mark belongs to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who finished with 64 that year.
The Cubs are three shy of tying that number and four from breaking it.
If they hold on, they’ll finish with the best defensive season the Statcast era has seen.
That kind of production isn’t coming from one position or one player. It’s everywhere.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is flying around center field and leads all MLB position players with 24 FRV, putting him on pace to challenge the single-season record of 28, set by Arizona shortstop Nick Ahmed in 2018 and matched by then-San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey in 2024. Dansby Swanson has 10 FRV and ranks fourth among shortstops.
Nico Hoerner has 6 and is seventh among second basemen. Alex Bregman leads all third basemen with 5.
Ian Happ brings four Gold Glove Awards in left. Seiya Suzuki has shown he can erase a runner from right field with a throw.
The Cubs are showing up in other defensive categories, too. Crow-Armstrong also leads MLB in Outs Above Average with 22, while Swanson is sixth with 14.
And this isn’t a one-stat mirage. Chicago’s defensive run prevention has been elite across the board.
The Cubs won The Fielding Bible’s Defensive Team of the Year award last season after posting 84 defensive runs saved, the second-most in MLB. This year, they’re already at 86 DRS, with the Tampa Bay Rays next at 67.
Crow-Armstrong, Bregman and Suzuki all sit inside MLB’s top 25 in DRS.
Even the basic stuff backs it up. The Cubs have committed just 18 errors, the fewest in baseball, and their .990 fielding percentage is tied with the Diamondbacks for best in MLB.
Swanson’s glove has already shown what this can look like in October. In the 2025 NL Wild Card Series, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt gave him an honorary series MVP nod after a run of huge defensive plays.
“He almost single-handedly beat us with his glove,” Shildt told reporters after the Cubs clinched the series. “One thing that we don't talk about as much anymore is your defense, and this time of year, your defense -- we play great defense, but Dansby Swanson absolutely beat us with his glove this series.”
That’s the kind of defense Chicago has built: loud, relentless and impossible to ignore. If the Cubs keep this up, they won’t just be remembered for a strong regular season. They’ll be remembered for redefining what elite defense looks like.
In Other News...
Ian Happs Cubs Future May Hinge On One Frustrating Reality
Ian Happ remains one of the more important moving pieces on the Cubs roster picture, and his future in Chicago is tied to a familiar kind of front-office calculation. He and Seiya Suzuki are both lined up for free agency after the 2026 season, but Happs case is more complicated than a simple yes-or-no decision. His steady power production gives the Cubs a reason to keep him in the conversation, especially as they continue trying to balance the lineup while also adding pitching and sorting through younger outfield options.
The wrinkle is that the Cubs do not have unlimited room to keep every veteran bat if the roster push is going to lean more heavily toward run prevention and internal development. That makes Happs standing especially interesting, because Chicago could view him as the more realistic re-signing candidate while other priorities take shape. For now, the question is less about whether Happ still fits and more about how much the Cubs are willing to commit when the market starts to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]
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There is also a longer-view angle here that makes Amayas progress especially important for the Cubs. He is positioned as a possible primary catcher in 2027, and with promising prospect Owen Ayers potentially not far from the majors, Chicago suddenly has a future at the position that feels a lot more defined than it did not long ago. If Amaya keeps settling in, he could end up serving not just as a key player, but as a guide for the next wave too. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs May Have An Unexpected October Pitching Wrinkle Brewing
The Cubs are still sorting through the shape of their pitching depth as October approaches, and Jaxon Wiggins has become a name worth watching for reasons that would have seemed unlikely not long ago. After an elbow injury and a year that has featured uneven command and effectiveness, the right-hander turned up in the bullpen during a minor league game, a usage pattern that can say plenty even when no formal decision has been made.
For a club trying to line up enough trustworthy arms for the stretch run, that kind of experiment matters, especially with possible returns from Ben Brown and Justin Steele still hanging over the staff picture. Whether Wiggins becomes part of the postseason mix is still unclear, but the Cubs at least appear open to creative answers as they keep looking for workable innings. [Read more 🡒]