ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Rawlings announced the 2026 Gold Glove Award finalists Wednesday, with four Atlanta Braves among those honored for defensive excellence at each position in each league.
First baseman Matt Olson, pitcher Chris Sale, center fielder Michael Harris II and utility player Mauricio Dubón are in contention.
Olson is seeking his fourth Gold Glove and second straight with Atlanta. Dubón is seeking his third overall and first with the Braves, Sale his second and Harris his first. Olson was Atlanta’s lone winner in 2025.
Matt Olson: 1B Gold Glove finalist
Olson, also up for the Hank Aaron Award, logged the most innings among first basemen this season after playing in all 162 games and put up strong metrics to earn another nomination.
His main competition will be San Diego’s Ty France, who led MLB first basemen with 15 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). Olson had 11 in about 400 more innings at first base. France had 13 rPM (plus/minus runs saved runs above average) to Olson’s 10 and also had a higher fielding percentage than Olson.
Colorado’s T.J. Rumfield, who finished with six DRS, is the third finalist.
Chris Sale: SP Gold Glove finalist
Sale is in contention for his second Cy Young Award, but his excellence with the glove did not go unnoticed in another unbelievable season with Atlanta.
A finalist alongside St. Louis’ Michael McGreevy and New York’s Nolan McLean, Sale did not commit an error this season. He ranks third among the three with three defensive runs saved. McGreevy leads all pitchers with five DRS, followed by McLean with four.
Michael Harris II: CF Gold Glove finalist
Harris played about 130 innings fewer than fellow finalist Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs, but he put together the best defensive season of his career, with career highs in OAA (+14) and fielding run value (+12).
That, however, may not matter, as Crow-Armstrong’s defense was worth +23 runs, according to FanGraphs’ defensive runs metric, which paced all players in baseball. He also led the majors in Statcast’s fielding run value (+26) and Outs Above Average (+26), with the latter tied for the most OAA by an outfielder in a single season since at least 2016.
Harris’ best season since his 2022 Rookie of the Year campaign was pivotal in Atlanta’s postseason push. His overall excellence with the glove and his bat reignited talking points about Harris being one of the best outfielders in baseball and a staple in Atlanta’s future plans.
Michael Harris II added yet another 4⭐️ catch to his already impressive 2026 resume
40% Catch Probability
43 feet covered
3.2 seconds
That’s now 7 4⭐️ grabs on the year, tying him for 2nd in MLB behind just Pete Crow-Armstrong
Harris is up to 12 Outs Above Average – tied for… pic.twitter.com/EUM4u2ve0a
— Expected Chop (@ExpectedChop) September 9, 2026
Mauricio Dubón: UTL Gold Glove finalist
Dubón, who was dealt to Atlanta by Houston in exchange for shortstop Nick Allen last offseason, has the best shot of winning a Gold Glove out of Atlanta’s crop of finalists this year.
He had a combined +7 DRS in the outfield, at shortstop and at third base — more than fellow finalists Jared Triolo of Pittsburgh and Arizona’s Ildemaro Vargas. He also had the best fielding run value of the three finalists and by far the best OAA of the group.
Dubón’s addition has been an incredible asset to Atlanta, with valuable contributions offensively and versatile defense while the team dealt with injuries all over the field throughout the season.
Winners will be announced Nov. 1. Managers and up to six coaches per team vote for winners but cannot select their own players — accounting for 75% of the vote — with the remaining 25% from the SABR Defensive Index, which uses metrics such as arm strength, range and sure-handedness. The utility award is selected separately using the SABR Defensive Index.
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