Cubs' Nico Hoerner Snubbed From NL Gold Glove Finalist

The Gold Glove finalists were announced earlier on Wednesday. 

The Chicago Cubs were expected to have a lot of representation on the finalist list after an impressive defensive campaign. The Cubs led the league in defensive runs saved with 115, and it wasn’t particularly close. The next closest team was the Tampa Bay Rays with 87. 

As the best defensive team in baseball, the Cubs had a handful of finalists at several positions. Chicago was tied with the Toronto Blue Jays with five Gold Glove finalists. The five Gold Glove finalists were Alex Bregman (third base), Dansby Swanson (shortstop), Ian Happ (left field), Pete Crow-Armstrong (center field), and Seiya Suzuki (right field). 

All five Cubs players deserve to be finalists. Bregman ranked in the 82nd percentile in Fielding Run Value, Swanson ranked in the 93rd percentile, Happ ranked in the 81st percentile, Crow-Armstrong ranked in the 100th percentile, and Suzuki ranked in the 86th percentile. 

There is a case to be made for all five Cubs fielders winning a Gold Glove at their position this season. Crow-Armstrong and Bregman are strong locks to win. It will be close between Happ and Jackson Chourio (left field) and Suzuki and Corbin Carroll (right field). Swanson could win it, but likely not after Masyn Winn’s elite defensive campaign. 

The one notable player who is missing from this finalist list, though, is second baseman Nico Hoerner. 

Hoerner was surprisingly left off as a Gold Glove finalist at second base in the National League. That feels like a significant snub following another strong defensive season for the Cubs infielder. 

Hoerner was the starting second baseman on the best defense in baseball. He ranked seventh among all second basemen in Outs Above Average (7), Runs Prevented (7), and Fielding Run Value (9). His defensive numbers weren’t as strong as in 2025, when he finished in the 97th percentile in Fielding Run Value, but he did enough this year to be a finalist. 

The problem is that JJ Wetherholt, Brice Turang, and Brandon Lowe all posted better numbers metrically in the field. Wetherholt led all second basemen in Outs Above Average (25) and Runs Prevented (19). Turang ranked second in both categories, and Lowe had a higher Outs Above Average (15), Runs Prevented (11), and Fielding Run Value (12) than Hoerner. 

While Hoerner no doubt had another solid defensive season, Wetherholt, Turang, and Lowe appeared to have slightly better defensive seasons.