The Texas Rangers didn’t get the season they wanted in 2026, but Ezequiel Duran gave them a bright spot that stands on its own. On Sunday evening, Duran was named the American League’s 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner at the utility position, with the announcement coming live on ESPN before the Rangers confirmed it on social media.
It’s the first Gold Glove of his Major League career, and it also puts him in a unique place in franchise history. According to the Rangers’ announcement, Duran is the first player in team history to win a Gold Glove at utility, a position that was first added in 2022.
What Duran did across the season was hard to miss. He became the only Major League player in 2026 to start and finish a game at every position except pitcher and catcher, a rare kind of versatility that made him invaluable whenever Texas needed coverage somewhere on the field.
His workload was massive, too. Duran played a career-high 153 games and logged time at seven different defensive spots: third base for 57 games, shortstop for 53, second base 37 times, left field 21, center field 18, right field 14 and first base in three games.
The production backed up the versatility. Duran finished with 17 Outs Above Average, tied for the sixth-highest total in MLB, according to Statcast. At shortstop, he posted 11 Outs Above Average, which ranked fourth among American League players even though he only started there for 49 games.
When injuries hit the roster, Duran kept answering the call. In September, Skip Schumaker made his feelings clear to MLB.com’s David Venn: “I think something is wrong if he doesn’t win the Gold Glove.
And I can’t imagine he doesn’t win a couple of awards, including the Silver Slugger. He’s had that kind of special year.”
Duran’s award makes him the 19th different player in Rangers history to win a Gold Glove. The club also won the American League Team Gold Glove Award in 2025.
Beyond the hardware, 2026 looked like a real step forward for Duran. He showed he can handle multiple positions at a high level, and he also became a regular part of the Rangers’ everyday lineup. As Texas starts shaping its 2027 roster, he looks like a firm piece of that core.
In Other News...
Bruce Bochys Hall Of Fame Case Will Hit Rangers Fans Hard
The 2027 non-player Contemporary Baseball Era Hall of Fame ballot is out, and it puts a familiar name in the spotlight for Rangers fans: Bruce Bochy. The former Texas manager is among a group of eight candidates that also includes Dusty Baker, Joe Maddon, Lou Piniella, Sandy Alderson, Brian Sabean, Bill White and Ted Turner, a ballot that leans heavily on baseball lifers whose impact stretched well beyond one dugout or front office.
Bochys case will resonate in Texas because his rsum is built on the kind of steady, winning leadership that tends to age well in Hall conversations. His managerial run ended with 2,252 wins, and that total places him among the games all-time greats, while the rest of the ballot brings its own heavyweight credentials from the dugout, the executive suite and the broadcast booth. For Rangers fans, it is another reminder that one of the most respected managers of his era is now in line for a different kind of judgment. [Read more 🡒]
Evan Carters Latest Setback Creates A Bigger Rangers Concern
Evan Carters promising run with the Rangers has been interrupted again, this time by a right hip procedure that adds another chapter to a career already shaped by stop-and-start availability. The surgery was arthroscopic and addressed a labral injury along with hip impingement, a reminder that the young outfielders development has been as much about getting healthy as it has been about showing what he can do on the field.
For Texas, the bigger concern is less about one missed stretch than the uncertainty that still hangs over Carters recovery. President Chris Young said there is no established timeline for his return, even while expressing optimism that Carter can still play most of the 2027 season, leaving the Rangers to wait and see how much this latest setback affects both his timetable and their plans. [Read more 🡒]
Bruce Bochy Just Gave Rangers Fans A Reason To Look Back
Bruce Bochys name is back in the Hall of Fame conversation, and for Rangers fans it brings a familiar face back into focus. The veteran manager has been selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame contemporary era ballot for 2027, a list of eight candidates that will be considered by a 16-person panel, with the results set to be announced on Dec. 6.
Bochys resume already speaks for itself, with four World Series titles and a career that has made him one of the most respected managers of his generation. He is now a special advisor with the San Francisco Giants, but his time in Texas still carries real weight after he guided the Rangers to their first World Series championship in 2023, a run that remains a defining chapter in the franchises history. [Read more 🡒]