The Cubs have turned Gold Glove season into a Chicago showcase.
Five Cubs landed among the National League finalists for the 2026 Gold Glove Awards: third baseman Alex Bregman, shortstop Dansby Swanson, left fielder Ian Happ, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and right fielder Seiya Suzuki. Across town, White Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth also cracked the American League finalist list.
That puts the Cubs in a tie with the Toronto Blue Jays for the most finalists in Major League Baseball. Chicago was already at the top of this particular leaderboard a year ago, when the Cubs had six finalists and went on to win a league-high three Gold Gloves in 2025.
Bregman is in the mix after another strong defensive season at third. He already has one Gold Glove from his time with the Houston Astros, and he wrapped up 2026 at +9 outs above average, second among all third basemen behind the Padres’ Manny Machado.
Swanson is chasing his third Gold Glove, after winning the award in 2022 and 2023. He finished the year at +16 outs above average, a number topped by only three qualified shortstops.
Happ could make it five straight wins if he takes home the award again. He recorded nine outfield assists in 2026, tying for eighth-most in MLB.
Crow-Armstrong’s case is as strong as anyone’s in the sport. He led the majors in outs above average at +26, topped FanGraphs’ “defensive runs” metric at +23 and finished first in Statcast’s fielding run value at +26.
Suzuki also made a big defensive leap. After posting a negative rating in his first four seasons, he turned in a +8 fielding run value in 2026. His +14 defensive runs saved ranked second among all MLB right fielders.
Meidroth’s path to finalist status came after a positional shift. He spent most of his rookie season in 2025 at shortstop, then moved to second base in 2026 and led all American League second basemen with a +10 in Statcast’s fielding run value metric.
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