NEW YORK — Cody Bellinger won the American League Gold Glove in left field Sunday night, giving the New York Yankees their only winner of the 2026 awards and ending a seven-year wait for the outfielder.
It is the second Gold Glove of Bellinger’s career. His first came in 2019, when he won in right field with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bellinger, 31, beat out Texas’ Wyatt Langford and Tampa Bay rookie Chandler Simpson. He is the first Yankees outfielder to win the award since Brett Gardner in 2016, and the Yankees have now had a Gold Glove winner in consecutive seasons after left-hander Max Fried won for pitchers in 2025.
The same night, two players the Yankees traded away won Gold Gloves of their own.
Bellinger leads left fielders in runs saved
Bellinger led all MLB left fielders with 21 defensive runs saved, tied for third among all players at any position. He added six outs above average and eight outfield assists, tied for third among left fielders.
His throws averaged 93.3 mph, in the 94th percentile. He made 112 starts in left field after splitting 2025 among all three outfield spots and first base. He also won a Fielding Bible Award in October with 14 of 17 first-place votes.
His best-known play came Aug. 28 against the Boston Red Sox. Bellinger threw out Ceddanne Rafaela at the plate with a 99.7 mph throw to catcher Austin Wells to protect a 1-0 lead in a Yankees win.
Manager Aaron Boone praised the throw after the game.
“One of the defensive plays of the year,” Boone said.
Bellinger credited the consistency of playing one position every day.
“I think with one position, you get the reps, consistency and a consistent arm release,” Bellinger said.
The Yankees marked the award on social media.
“Good as Gold. Congratulations on your 2nd career Gold Glove, Belli!” the team posted.
The Yankees’ other two finalists came up short. Wells lost at catcher to Detroit’s Dillon Dingler, the 2025 winner. Jose Caballero, a first-time finalist with 12 defensive runs saved, lost the utility award.
| Position | American League winner | Team | National League winner | Team |
| Pitcher | Tanner Bibee | Guardians | Nolan McLean | Mets |
| Catcher | Dillon Dingler | Tigers | Gabriel Moreno | Diamondbacks |
| First base | Christian Walker | Astros | Matt Olson | Braves |
| Second base | Cole Young | Mariners | Brice Turang | Brewers |
| Third base | Caleb Durbin | Red Sox | Alex Bregman | Cubs |
| Shortstop | Taylor Walls | Rays | Geraldo Perdomo | Diamondbacks |
| Left field | Cody Bellinger | Yankees | Jackson Chourio | Brewers |
| Center field | Ceddanne Rafaela | Red Sox | Pete Crow-Armstrong | Cubs |
| Right field | Wilyer Abreu | Red Sox | Corbin Carroll | Diamondbacks |
| Utility | Ezequiel Duran | Rangers | Mauricio Dubón | Braves |
Durbin and Duran win elsewhere
The player who beat Caballero was Ezequiel Duran of the Texas Rangers, who started his pro career in the Yankees system.
Duran played every position except pitcher and catcher and ranked in the 99th percentile with 17 combined outs above average. It is the first utility Gold Glove in Rangers history. He also had 17 homers and 80 RBIs through mid-September.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker made Duran’s case publicly in September.
“I think something is wrong if he doesn’t win the Gold Glove,” Schumaker said.
At third base, the award went to Boston’s Caleb Durbin, whom the Yankees added to their 40-man roster in November 2024 and traded weeks later.
Durbin led AL third basemen with 13 defensive runs saved. He is the second Red Sox third baseman to win a Gold Glove, joining Frank Malzone, who won three straight from 1957 to 1959. Boston won three Gold Gloves in all, tied with Arizona for the most of any team.
Durbin played through a left pinkie injury that required surgery after the season. He said he expects more from himself in 2027.
“There’s more in the tank,” Durbin said.
Two trades, three awards
Both winners left the Yankees in deals for established big leaguers.
In July 2021, the Yankees acquired slugger Joey Gallo and reliever Joely Rodriguez from Texas for four prospects: Duran, Josh Smith, Glenn Otto and Trevor Hauver.
Gallo hit .159 with 25 homers and 194 strikeouts in 140 games as a Yankee before being traded to the Dodgers for pitching prospect Clayton Beeter. Smith won the 2024 AL Silver Slugger as a utility player.
In December 2024, the Yankees sent Durbin, left-hander Nestor Cortes and cash to the Milwaukee Brewers for closer Devin Williams. General manager Brian Cashman had mentioned Durbin weeks earlier as a possible internal option at second base for 2025.
Williams posted a 4.79 ERA with 18 saves in 67 appearances in his only Yankees season, then signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the Mets. Milwaukee traded Durbin to Boston in February.
Together, the two trades gave the Yankees about a season and a half of Gallo and one season of Williams. The players they sent away have won three major awards since, two of them on Sunday night.
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