The 2026 American League Gold Glove race is set, and Wednesday’s finalist list brought a mix of familiar defenders and a big wave of first-timers across the positions.
At pitcher, Jacob deGrom of the Texas Rangers, Tanner Bibee of the Cleveland Guardians and Jose Soriano, who is listed with the Los Angeles Angels/Toronto Blue Jays, made the cut. None of the three has won the award before, making this one of three spots in the league where the eventual winner will be new to the Gold Glove club.
That theme shows up again at catcher, where Dillon Dingler, Brandon Valuenzela and Austin Wells are the finalists. Dingler, of the Detroit Tigers, is trying to repeat after winning the 2025 Gold Glove Award. Valuenzela, with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Wells of the New York Yankees are chasing the first Gold Glove of their careers.
First base has a mix of past winners and a newcomer in the hunt. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays won the award once before in 2022, Christian Walker of the Houston Astros owns three Gold Gloves from his National League days, and Vinnie Pasquantino of the Kansas City Royals is trying to break through for the first time.
Second base is another spot where the trophy will go to a first-time winner. Michael Massey of the Kansas City Royals, Chase Meidroth of the Chicago White Sox and Cole Young of the Seattle Mariners are the finalists.
Shortstop, though, belongs to Bobby Witt Jr. until someone proves otherwise. The Royals star is the favorite after finishing with 24 Outs Above Average, which ranked third in MLB and first in the American League.
If he takes it home, it would be his third straight Gold Glove. Andres Giminez of the Toronto Blue Jays and Taylor Walls of the Tampa Bay Rays round out the group.
Third base is also headed for a first-time winner. Caleb Durbin of the Boston Red Sox, Brooks Lee of the Minnesota Twins and Nick Loftin of the Kansas City Royals all finished in the top six in Outs Above Average among third basemen this season.
In left field, Cody Bellinger of the New York Yankees, Wyatt Langford of the Texas Rangers and Chandler Simpson of the Tampa Bay Rays are the finalists. Bellinger is the only previous winner in the group, and his last Gold Glove came in 2019.
Center field features Evan Carter of the Texas Rangers, Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians and Ceddanne Rafaela of the Boston Red Sox. Kwan won Gold Gloves from 2022-25, all in left field, while Rafaela won in 2025 and was also the AL’s Platinum Glove Award runner-up last season.
Right field gives Boston’s Wilyer Abreu, Toronto’s Nathan Lukes and Houston’s Cam Smith a shot. Abreu won in both 2024 and 2025, but Smith may have the inside track after posting seven Outs Above Average, the most of the three finalists.
The utility finalists are Jose Caballero of the New York Yankees, Ezequiel Duran of the Texas Rangers and Zach McKinstry of the Detroit Tigers.
Altogether, 21 players are in line for the first Gold Glove Awards of their careers, while nine are trying to add another one to the shelf.
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Royals Face A Painful 40-Man Crunch Before Everything Freezes
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That makes the 40-man roster a real pressure point, especially for a club trying to balance present value against longer-term flexibility. One hypothetical path even includes a trade centered on Kyle Isbel and Bradley Hanner, underscoring how many different levers the Royals may need to pull just to get through the winter without exposing themselves elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]