Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman win second Rawlings Gold Glove Awards

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

CHICAGO — Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman each won a second career Rawlings Gold Glove Award on Sunday, with Crow-Armstrong honoured in center field and Bregman recognized at third base, according to Major League Baseball. The awards spotlight the Cubs duo’s defensive impact alongside their offensive contributions during the 2026 season.

Crow-Armstrong’s Gold Glove marked his second career win after previously earning one in 2025. MLB’s announcement highlighted how his play helped anchor Chicago’s outfield defense, with the organization’s baseball operations leadership pointing to a broader defensive foundation built around that standard. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said that the “standard he’s set defensively is really incredible” and added that it “allows us to build the kind of team we want to build around defense.”

The league’s release also tied Crow-Armstrong’s individual recognition to the Cubs’ overall team performance in the field. MLB reported that Chicago led Major League Baseball and set single-season Statcast-era records by posting a +72 fielding run value and recording +72 outs above average as a team last season. In addition to Crow-Armstrong and Bregman, MLB said Dansby Swanson (shortstop), Seiya Suzuki (right field) and Ian Happ (left) were also Gold Glove finalists.

Nico Hoerner, identified in the announcement as a two-time Gold Glove winner at second base, was also noted as a player who might have joined the group of finalists if not for circumstances that kept him from full-time shortstop duties. MLB stated that Hoerner would have manned short while Swanson missed time across August and September, shifting how Chicago’s infield alignment played out over the season’s later months.

MLB also contextualized Crow-Armstrong’s Gold Glove history within Cubs franchise milestones. The announcement said he joined Happ (2018–25), Jason Heyward (2016–17) and Andre Dawson (1987–88) as the only Cubs outfielders to win at least two Gold Glove Awards, and it recalled that Bob Dernier also earned a Gold Glove in 1984 at the position.

For Bregman, the Gold Glove marked his second win at third base as well. MLB reported that he previously won a Gold Glove in 2024 with the Astros, and that his latest award placed him alongside Hall of Famer Ron Santo (1964–68) as the only third basemen to win a Gold Glove for the Cubs franchise. The announcement also included Bregman’s own description of how his season started defensively before improvements built momentum over time.

According to MLB, Bregman acknowledged that he had “got off to a rocky start defensively” early in the season. The league’s release attributed part of his turnaround to Major League coach Jonathan Mota, who MLB said dedicates pregame hours to working closely with the infielders. MLB reported that Bregman credited that infield work with helping him clean up details and get back on track.

On the season’s defensive profile, MLB said Crow-Armstrong set the tone with a reported MLB-leading +26 fielding run value. The release said that figure was also the highest on record in one year for an outfielder, noting that Statcast data for fielding run value goes back to 2016. It further reported that Byron Buxton (2017) and Adam Eaton (2016) had previously shared the record with +24.

Crow-Armstrong’s outs-above-average numbers were also emphasized in MLB’s announcement. The league stated that he recorded an MLB-leading +26 outs above average, a mark that tied Buxton’s 2017 total for the most by an outfielder since Statcast has tracked the statistic. MLB also said his season included a benchmark for highlight plays, noting that Crow-Armstrong overtook Kevin Kiermaier for the most 5-star catches in a career. The release said Crow-Armstrong finished with 34 such catches on a 50.7% success rate, while Kiermaier had 32 career 5-star catches with a 27.6% success rate.

Beyond the awards themselves, MLB placed the Cubs’ defensive run within a broader in-season arc. The announcement stated that after the All-Star break, Crow-Armstrong led the majors with 4.7 wins above replacement, and Bregman was right behind at 3.7 wins above replacement, tied for second overall in that span. MLB’s release attributed that stretch to both offensive output and defensive performance.

For Bregman’s defensive evaluation, MLB reported that by season’s end he produced a +7 fielding run value, tying Manny Machado and Joey Ortiz for the best mark at third base in MLB. The league further noted that Bregman registered +9 outs above average, second among MLB third basemen, and that he recorded +15 defensive runs saved, tied for first. Those totals were presented as part of the basis for his Gold Glove recognition.

Bregman’s comments included in MLB’s release reflected confidence in his defensive form as the season progressed. In the league’s announcement, Bregman said, “I take a ton of pride in that,” and added that, “Minus maybe the first week or so, I feel like I’ve been one of the elite defenders in all of baseball,” and that he believed Chicago had “a team of elite defenders.” MLB reported that he expressed satisfaction with how the infield defense performed “on that side of the ball.”

With Crow-Armstrong and Bregman each adding a second Gold Glove to their resumes, MLB’s announcement underscores how the Cubs’ 2026 defensive identity was recognized league-wide. The awards also place the players within franchise and MLB historical context, with Crow-Armstrong’s repeat outfield honour and Bregman’s second-career Gold Glove at third base continuing the Cubs’ tradition of recognizing top defensive excellence at key positions.