The St. Louis Cardinals placed three players among the National League finalists for the 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, with shortstop Masyn Winn, second baseman JJ Wetherholt, and pitcher Michael McGreevy earning recognition for standout defensive seasons. Rawlings announced the full list of finalists on Wednesday, October 14. Winners will be revealed during a special ESPN Baseball Tonight broadcast at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 1.
Winn, the reigning NL Gold Glove winner at shortstop from 2025, is seeking a second consecutive award. He led all National League shortstops with plus-19 Outs Above Average and posted a plus-17 Fielding Run Value, ranking in the 99th percentile. His average arm strength of 94.4 mph also ranked among the best for middle infielders. Winn is joined in the NL shortstop finalist pool by Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson (a two-time Gold Glove winner) and Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.
Rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt delivered one of the most impressive defensive seasons by a first-year player in the modern tracking era. His plus-25 Outs Above Average ranked second in all of Major League Baseball behind only Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (plus-26) and marked the highest total ever recorded by a rookie since the metric’s introduction in 2016. Wetherholt also finished with a plus-23 Fielding Run Value (100th percentile) and was credited with 19 runs prevented. He becomes the first Cardinals rookie positioned to win a Gold Glove since Brendan Donovan in 2022. His primary competition comes from Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang (the 2024 NL Gold Glove and Platinum Glove winner) and Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe.
Should both Winn and Wetherholt claim the awards, they would become just the eighth middle-infield double-play combination in MLB history to win Gold Gloves in the same season.
On the mound, right-hander Michael McGreevy was named a finalist for the NL Pitcher Gold Glove. In his first full season as a rotation regular, McGreevy recorded plus-five Defensive Runs Saved, tying for the most among all pitchers in baseball. He is competing against New York Mets rookie Nolan McLean and Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale, who is seeking a second career Gold Glove.
Voting for the awards is conducted by managers and up to six coaches per team (75 percent of the total), with the SABR Defensive Index accounting for the remaining 25 percent. Managers and coaches cannot vote for players on their own clubs. After the November 1 announcement, fan voting will help determine the Rawlings Platinum Glove winners for each league.
The Cardinals’ three finalists underscore the club’s defensive strengths up the middle in 2026, even as the team navigated a transitional season. Attention now turns to November 1, when the official winners will be revealed.
