Gold Glove Awards 2026 winners announced: Red Sox and Arizona tie for highest wins as Mariners’ Cole Young takes first glove, Walker and Olson get fourth

The 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners were announced on Sunday, November 2. The award recognising the top defensive players across the American and National League comes just a week after the season officially came to a close.

The award, launched in 1975, is based on votes. The process comprises 75% of MLB managers and coaches and also the sabermetrics community, which makes up the other 25%. According to the MLB, the coaches can only vote within their own league and are not allowed to vote for players in their own teams. Then both leagues get three finalists for each position, which were released last week.

Red Sox and Arizona tie for highest player awards at three

The Red Sox swept the 2026 Gold Glove awards. The teams right fielder Wilyer Abreu won the Gold Glove for his position for the third-consecutive time. He beat the Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes and Astros’ Cam Smith.

With the win, Abreu became the first Red Sox player to win at least three consecutive times since former Sox right fielder Mookie Betts won four consecutively from 2016 to 2019, the Boston Herald reported. Reacting to his win, Abreu said to ESPN, “It’s unbelievable, everything that has happened to me this year…It has been a really good year for me.”

Centre fielder Ceddanee Rafaela won his second-consecutive Gold Glove. Rafaela along with Abreu was one of the only six MLB defenders to have 20 or more runs saved. Rafaela beat Steven Kwan and Evan Carter to win his glove.

The Sox also have a debut glove winner with their third baseman Caleb Durbin. He won the Gold Glove only in his second season by beating out Brooks Lee and Nick Loftin. Durbin made history by becoming the Sox’s second third baseman to win a Gold Glove. Frank Malzone was the first to do so, he went on to win three consecutively from 1957 to 1959.

Arizona which aimed to improve their defence this season is also seeing success with three players winning the gloves. Catcher Gabriel Moreno, Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and the Diamondbacks’ right fielder Corbin Carroll all took the award home. This is Moreno’s second glove, while both Perdomo and Carrol are first-time winners.

Mariners’ Cole Young wins his first Gold Glove

Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young has won his first ever Gold Glove Award at 23. He becomes the first Mariners infielder since 2020 to win the glove. According to the MLB, Young is also the second Mariners player to win a Gold Glove in his age-22 season. He joins Ken Griffey with this feat.

The last Mariners’ second baseman to win the glove was Bret Boone, who won the award thrice in a streak that began before Young was even born. He beat Royals’ Michael Massey and White Sox’s Chae Meidroth to win the glove.

Christian Walker gets fourth Gold Glove

First baseman for the Astros Christian Walker has won his fourth Gold Glove. He has previously won the gloves consecutively in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Walker has earned a $75,000 bonus for the win, CBS reported. Atlanta’s Matt Olson also won his fourth glove after his wins in 2018, 2019 and 2025.