Braves Defense: Olson and Dubón Collect 2026 Gold Gloves
The 32-year-old first baseman and utilityman secured their respective awards on Sunday, joining a short list of elite defenders in league history.
By Meera Fletcher ·
Major League Baseball recognized the top defensive performers in the National League on Sunday night. Two Atlanta Braves players received the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for the 2026 season.
Matt Olson won the honor at first base, while Mauricio Dubón took the award for the utility position. Chris Sale and Michael Harris II were also finalists in their categories. Nolan McLean of the New York Mets and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs defeated the Braves players for their respective titles.
Olson is 32 years old and has now won four Gold Gloves. He joins Christian Walker and Paul Goldschmidt as the only active first basemen with four such awards. Olson played in all 162 games this season, leading all major league first basemen in innings played. He recorded 12 Outs Above Average and 12 overall fielding run value. He finished second to San Diego's Ty France in Defensive Runs Saved with 11. He defeated T.J. Rumfield of the Colorado Rockies for the award.
Dubón, also 32, demonstrated wide-ranging defensive skills during the year. He started 75 games in left field and 51 at shortstop. He also appeared in 14 games in center field, five at third base, and four at second base. Dubón has won the utility Gold Glove three times in five years. He is the only multi-time winner in the history of that category. Two of his wins came while he played in the American League with the Houston Astros.
The award voting process splits authority between human judgment and statistical data. Managers and up to six coaches from each team provide 75% of the vote. They cannot select players from their own clubs. The remaining 25% comes from the SABR Defensive Index. This formula measures range, arm strength, and fielding reliability. A separate calculation of the same index determines the utility winner.
This marks the first time since 2022 that two Braves won Gold Gloves in the same year. Max Fried and Dansby Swanson shared the honor in 2022. The franchise has won 12 Gold Gloves across seven of the last nine seasons since 2018. The Braves have maintained a consistent high level of defensive performance during this period.
The full list of 2026 Gold Glove winners includes players from 15 different teams. In the American League, Ezequiel Duran of the Texas Rangers won the utility award. The National League winners included Gabriel Moreno of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Brice Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Source: WBTV
