The Cubs finished the 2026 regular season with perhaps the greatest team defense we’ve ever seen.
Led by National League MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Chicago defense put together 73 total Fielding Run Value this past season -- more than any other team since FRV debuted in 2018. The Cubs’ 73 FRV was an eye-popping 27 runs better than the next-best team in 2026, the Blue Jays, and nine runs better than the second-best team since the metric’s launch, the 2018 Diamondbacks.
The Cubs boasted serviceable-to-elite defenders all over the diamond, with Gold Glove Award winners at five spots already. They’ll have a shot to win a few more this year, as five Cubs were named finalists for the award during Wednesday’s reveal: 3B Alex Bregman, SS Dansby Swanson, LF Ian Happ, CF Crow-Armstrong and RF Seiya Suzuki. Five finalists were the most among National League teams and tied with the Blue Jays for the most across MLB.
With those finalists in tow, this historic Cubs defense could again go where no one has before.
No team -- AL or NL -- has ever swept all three outfield Gold Glove Awards, not since the award became split by position in 2011 nor before. Gold Gloves debuted in 1957.
Several teams have won two of the three Gold Gloves in the same year, including the 2025 Cubs with Happ and Crow-Armstrong, but never all three. This Cubs’ 2026 trio could be the first.
Here’s a look at Happ, Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki’s standings in the chase. Winners are set to be unveiled on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1. A combination of a vote from MLB personnel (75% weight) and the SABR Defensive Index (25% weight) will make the final determination.
LF Ian Happ
Happ has already won four consecutive Gold Gloves in left field, and there’s a chance he grabs his fifth this year. But there is stiff competition.
Happ’s six FRV was second among NL left fielders, trailing eight from the Brewers’ Jackson Chourio. Chourio also had a slight lead with 13 Defensive Runs Saved, compared to Happ’s 10. Statistically, this appears to be a two-horse race, as the Nationals’ Daylen Lile was the third finalist with just three FRV and eight DRS.
Chourio held a significant advantage in range, with six Outs Above Average to Happ’s one. But Happ made up ground with his arm, posting five FRV to Chourio’s three
Chourio looks like the favorite on paper, potentially bringing an end to Happ’s stranglehold on the Gold Glove. But Happ was busier in the field, with 222 more innings than Chourio, and the SABR Defensive Index liked him much better (4.6) than Chourio (0.0) in its most recent update on Aug. 9.
The Cubs shouldn’t have to sweat this race. Crow-Armstrong was the most valuable defender in MLB, with a league-leading 26 FRV. That was a significantly better mark than his fellow Gold Glove finalists, the Dodgers' Andy Pages (13 FRV) and the Braves' Michael Harris II (12).
The better question is whether PCA will take home his first Platinum Glove, a fan-voting award for the best overall defender in his respective league. Cardinals rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt will be his primary competition after posting 23 FRV in his debut campaign.
RF Seiya Suzuki
Suzuki won five Golden Gloves, the Nippon Professional Baseball equivalent to the Gold Glove, before coming to MLB with the Cubs in 2022. He didn’t have quite as much luck in the field over his first four seasons in Chicago, with -9 FRV across those years. He then served mostly as the designated hitter in 2025 with Kyle Tucker manning right field.
But Suzuki had a renaissance in 2026. His typically average arm over the years became elite, earning four FRV. He also made a massive jump in range at a career-best five OAA. DRS liked him quite a bit, too, at 14 -- most among NL right fielders.
Suzuki’s bid for his first Gold Glove will likely come down to the voters’ preference in defensive metrics. Suzuki holds a lead over his fellow finalists with eight total FRV, beating the Mets’ Carson Benge (six) and the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll (four). Both Benge (-1 range) and Carroll (-6 arm) lack something in FRV’s measurements, while Suzuki is balanced on both sides.
However, Carroll had a sizable advantage in range, with 9 OAA to Suzuki’s five. Benge’s arm (seven FRV) also topped Suzuki’s. Carroll sat closely behind Suzuki in DRS (12), while Benge trailed significantly (six). In the Aug. 9 SABR Defensive Index update, Carroll had the lead (10.9) with Suzuki in second (6.8) and Benge further down the list (-0.7).
Neither Suzuki nor Carroll has ever won a Gold Glove, and Benge was a rookie, so someone is going to take home a well-earned first trophy. But which of the trio does so appears to be very much up for debate.