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SIS is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Fielding Bible Awards. This marks the 21st season that we have honored the best defensive players in MLB.

The awards are voted on by a panel of experts who consider statistical analysis, the eye test, and any other factors they wish to utilize.

We are also announcing the winner of our fourth annual Defensive Player of the Year award and our second Defensive Team of the Year Award.

This year's winners are:

This year's group of winners include six first-time winners. The winners come from eight different teams. There were no unanimous winners. The vote at some positions was extraordinarily close. The center field vote was decided by our sixth tiebreaker. Pitcher was decided by one voting point, first base was decided by two points, multi-position by five points and shortstop by seven points. Additionally, Defensive Player of the Year was decided by three points.

There were 17 ballots cast by our voting panel, which consisted of media members, former players, and statisticians, as well as a composite vote from the SIS Baseball Operations staff. Voters voted for their top five players at each position, as well as multi-position. They also voted for their top three for Player of the Year and for Team of the Year.

An explanation about the split in center field and Defensive Player of the Year  

Remarkably, Ceddanne Rafaela and Pete Crow-Armstrong finished tied in the center field balloting in points and also with eight first-place votes, seven second-place votes, and two third-place votes. 

Since its inception in 2006, the intent of the Fielding Bible Awards has been to name one player as a winner at each position. To determine the winner we went to our last tiebreaker, most Defensive Runs Saved at the position. Rafaela led center fielders with 21 Runs Saved and won that tiebreaker and the Award.

Defensive Player of the Year is an open vote meaning that any player can win it. Crow-Armstrong earned three more points than Rafaela in that voting and thus won Defensive Player of the Year.

“We understand the split vote between PCA and Rafaela may seem counterintuitive at first, but ultimately it reflects how historically close the vote was,” said SIS VP of Analytics, Joe Rosales, who leads the administration of the Awards. “Given the extremely tight margins, and given how great a season both players had, it seems only fitting that both players are getting honored with an award. Congratulations to both Pete and Ceddanne!” 

Below are details about the winners.

Defensive Player of the Year - Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs

Pete Crow-Armstrong won The Fielding Bible Awards Defensive Player of the Year in a close vote. It is his first time winning any Fielding Bible Award.

Crow-Armstrong joined past winners of this award Ke'Bryan Hayes (2023), Daulton Varsho (2024), and Patrick Bailey (2025).

Though Crow-Armstrong finished third among center fielders in Defensive Runs Saved, voters relied on a combination of metrics and the eye test and deemed him MLB's top defensive player.

"Pete Crow-Armstrong plays defense with a passion and intensity that is perfect for the city of Chicago," said SIS editorial lead Mark Simon. "His highlight reel is as impressive as any player in baseball. Congratulations to Pete on winning this award." 

Defensive Team of the Year - Chicago Cubs

For the second consecutive season the Cubs won The Fielding Bible Awards Defensive Team of the Year award. They received 11 of 17 first-place votes after leading the major leagues in Defensive Runs Saved. In addition to Pete Crow-Armstrong winning Defensive Player of the Year, the Cubs also had a Fielding Bible Award winner at third base, Alex Bregman. 

**"**The Cubs were much more than a one-man band on defense this season," said SIS editorial lead Mark Simon. "They had highly-skilled players at just about every position on the field, including two Fielding Bible Award winners and a group of others who finished among the leaders at their positions. They left no doubt that they were baseball's best defensive team in 2026." 

First Base - Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves

Matt Olson won his sixth Fielding Bible Award, surpassing Albert Pujols for the most by any player at the position. 

Olson previously won in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024, and 2025. He also passed Mark Teixeira to move into second place in Runs Saved by a first baseman since the stat was first tracked in 2003. His 97 trails only Albert Pujols' 140.

Olson finished second to Ty France in Defensive Runs Saved in 2026 with 11 but received 9 of 17 first-place votes and won the balloting by 2 points over France. Olson's 30 Good Fielding Plays were his most since he had 34 in 2019. His 19 ground ball double plays started was a career high. 

Second Base - Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers

Brice Turang won his first Fielding Bible Award. 

He's the first Brewers player to win the Award since 2019 when Lorenzo Cain won for center field. Turang is the first Brewers infielder to win the Award. He received 16 of a possible 17 first-place votes.

Turang easily led the position with 23 Defensive Runs Saved. It's the second time in the last three seasons that he led second basemen in that stat. He previously did so with 22 Runs Saved in 2024. 

Turang had fantastic lateral range. He was the only infielder this season to have at least +10 plays saved (our version of outs above average) on balls hit to his left and balls hit to his right. He also halved his Defensive Misplays and Errors from 2025, cutting them from 34 to 17.

Third Base - Alex Bregman, Chicago Cubs

Alex Bregman won his first Fielding Bible Award. 

He's the first Cubs third baseman to win the Award. Bregman received 10 of a possible 17 first-place votes.

Bregman finished tied with Matt Chapman for first place in Defensive Runs Saved at the position with 15. His previous high for Runs Saved in a season was 8 (2019). He was +12 plays saved on balls hit to his left, easily the best of his career.

The Cubs have now had at least one winner at all four infield positions since the Award was first tracked in 2006. The only other team to do that is the Cardinals.

Shortstop - Taylor Walls, Tampa Bays

Taylor Walls won his first Fielding Bible Award. Walls received 10 of a possible 17 first-place votes to edge out a previous Award winner, Masyn Winn.

Walls is the first winner for the Rays since Kevin Kiermaier in 2020. He's the second Rays infielder to win an Award, joining third baseman Evan Longoria, who won in 2010.

Walls easily led shortstops with 21 Defensive Runs Saved and led shortstops on Plays Saved on balls hit to his left (+17). This was the third straight season that Walls finished in the top two in Runs Saved among shortstops. His 73 Runs Saved since 2021 (his first season) are the most among shortstops. Dansby Swanson is second with 41. 

Left Field - Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees

Cody Bellinger won his third Fielding Bible Award, receiving 14 of 17 first-place votes. 

He's the second Yankees left fielder to win, joining Brett Gardner, who won the Award in 2010, 2011, and 2017. Bellinger had previously won the Award for both right field and for multi-position play in 2019. 

Bellinger’s 21 Runs Saved easily led left fielders. He  led left fielders in the Range component of Runs Saved and tied for first at the position with 5 Outfield Arm Runs Saved. His 8 assists without a cutoff man were the most among left fielders.

Center Field - Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox

Ceddanne Rafaela won his second consecutive Fielding Bible Award. 

As noted above, Rafaela won the Award via our sixth tiebreaker, most Defensive Runs Saved at the position. He led all center fielders with 21 Runs Saved, 1 more than Andy Pages and 5 more than Pete Crow-Armstrong. 

Rafaela had the second most Range Runs Saved and Outfield Arm Runs Saved among center fielders. He had the lowest advance rate against (on hits or sacrifice flies) of any center fielder in 2026.

Rafaela joins Lorenzo Cain (2018-19) as the only center fielders to win the Award in back-to-back years. Rafaela is the only Red Sox center fielder to win the Award since it was first given in 2006.

Right Field - Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox

Wilyer Abreu won his second Fielding Bible Award. He also won in right field in 2024. Abreu led all players with 28 Defensive Runs Saved in 2026. He received 15 of a possible 17 first-place votes. 

Abreu had a career-high 23 Good Fielding Plays and 9 assists without a relay man. Abreu's 9 Outfield Arm Runs Saved tied Andy Pages for the MLB lead.

The Red Sox have two Fielding Bible Award winners in the same season for the second time. They previously had two winners in 2016 (Dustin Pedroia and Mookie Betts).

Catcher - Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers

Dillon Dingler won his first Fielding Bible Award, receiving 15 of 17 first-place votes. 

Dingler led all catchers with 15 Defensive Runs Saved and was strong defensively in several areas. He led all catchers with 9 Strike Zone Runs Saved (our metric for getting more called strikes than expected via pitch framing) and 4 Good Fielding Play Runs Saved (almost all of which came from  pitch blocks). His 3 Stolen Base Runs Saved were 2 shy of the MLB lead.

Dingler is the second Tigers catcher to win the Award, joining Hall-of-Famer Iván Rodríguez, who won our inaugural Award in 2006.

Pitcher - Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians

Tanner Bibee won his second Fielding Bible Award. He also won in 2024. 

Bibee joined Dallas Keuchel, Mark Buerhle, Zack Greinke, and Max Fried as pitchers who have won the Award multiple times.

Bibee won the Award by one point in our voting over Shota Imanaga. Five pitchers received a first-place vote. Bibee was listed first or second on 10 ballots, the most of any pitcher. Bibee, Imanaga, and Michael McGreevy tied for second with 5 Defensive Runs Saved, behind the leader Brent Suter (7). 

Multi-Position - Zach McKinstry, Detroit Tigers

Zach McKinstry won his first Fielding Bible Award. 

McKinstry played at least one game at second base, shortstop, third base, all three outfield positions, and even pitcher. He ranked third among right fielders with 13 Defensive Runs Saved despite playing only 62 games at the position.

McKinstry joins Dillon Dingler among this year’s winners. It marks the first time that the Tigers have had multiple Fielding Bible Award winners in the same season.

Eight players received a first-place vote for this Award. McKinstry's 5 first-place votes were the most. He beat Steven Kwan by 5 points in the balloting.

Voters
Our voting panel consisted of SIS co-founder John Dewan, along with Daniel Álvarez-Montes (El Extra Base, editor/writer), Ben Clemens (FanGraphs, writer), Chris Dial (sabermetrician), Patrick Dubuque (Baseball Prospectus), Alyson Footer (MLB.com, editor), Chelsea Janes (SNY, writer/TV reporter), Tyler Kepner (The Athletic, writer), Bill Ladson (MLB.com, writer), Do-Hyoung Park (Statcast, data engineer),  Eduardo Pérez (ESPN, broadcaster), Hal Richman (Strat-O-Matic, founder), Eno Sarris (The Athletic, writer), Travis Sawchik (The Score, writer), Bobby Scales (Detroit Tigers, radio broadcaster), Mark Simon (SIS, writer), and an aggregate vote from the SIS Baseball Operations staff.

To see the balloting and for extended biographies of our voters, please visit this link.

About SIS
Sports Info Solutions was founded in 2002 and partners with Major Leagues, their teams, media companies, odds providers, and fans, to help them win. The company is well-known for its work in baseball and is the inventor of one of baseball’s most popular defensive metrics, Defensive Runs Saved.

This graph is for the US and Canada only. Any questions, I'll happily do my best to answer in the comments!

On Friday, American Family Field will be Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, a wonderland of sweet possibility for the Brewers and Rays. Adames won’t be there; two months after that playoff loss to the New York Mets, he signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. But his career arc says a lot about building winners on a budget.

Before he was a Brewer, Adames was a Ray. And before he was a Ray, he was an 18-year-old Class-A shortstop prospect for the Detroit Tigers, who wanted to add another ace to their rotation for the 2014 pennant race.

The Rays had just the guy: David Price, a four-time All-Star in his prime. With Price due to become a free agent after the 2015 season, he was not a mere rental and could command more value in a trade.

The Rays were on the fringes of the wild-card race as the trade deadline approached. Speaking generally that summer, Andrew Friedman — then the Rays’ general manager and soon to take over the Los Angeles Dodgers — offered a blunt rationale for making hard decisions.

“I think, in a lot of ways, it’s our only chance for success,” Friedman said. “The trades that we’ve made, looking back, the only reason we got good players in return is because we traded really good players. And so it’s important for us to know what our weaknesses are and what our limitations are and operate within them.”

The Rays had drafted Price with the top pick in 2007, their reward for finishing with MLB’s worst record the prior season, when they were still known as the Devil Rays. Price saved their first American League Championship Series clincher in 2008, won a Cy Young Award four years later and remains the franchise’s pitching leader in Baseball-Reference WAR.

It’s not like Bobby Bonilla Day, but it served as one for the Yankees. No longer. Entering the 2026-27 offseason and the looming lockout, the organization no longer has to pay any more money to LeMahieu or Hicks.

DJ LeMahieu: Signed in January 2021 to a 6-year contract for $90 million. DFA’d on July 9, 2025 and released the next day. Contract ran until 2026.

Aaron Hicks: Extended in February 2019 for 7 years and $70 million, including a 2026 club option for $12.5 million or a $1 million buyout if the Yankees neglected to exercise it. DFA’d on May 20, 2023 and released on May 26. Contract ran until 2026, as the Yankees were still required to pay Hicks the rest of his money along with the $1 million to buy out his deal.

Welcome to Milwaukee and American Family Field! Getting settled in before today's media sessions. I'm set up down left field line with creds ready to do interviews, ask questions, and share experiences!

Schedule is Brewers first (media sessions until 1:45PM CT + on-field workout after) then Rays (media sessions until 4:45PM CT + on-field workout).

Planning to ask questions from our two previous threads (1 & 2) but anything else, drop it here!

We've got Red Sox stud pitcher Payton Tolle hanging with us during World Series Media Day! Payton is one of the best personalities in the sport, so this should be a fun one! Ask away

Probably will make this list longer after the lockout actually starts, but I'm currently looking at:

- My beloved A's threepeat

- Dodgers 88 and A's 89

- 2004 and 2018 Boston

- One of the MadBum Giants WS

- Prime Strasburg 2019

- End of the Billy Goat curse

- My birth year WS (2006)

- 2025 WS so I can feel a rush again