With a major improvement defensively in 2026, Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young took home his first career Gold Glove Award on Sunday night.

Named a finalist alongside Michael Massey of the Kansas City Royals and Chase Meidroth of the Chicago White Sox, Young becomes the third M's second baseman in history to win a Gold Glove.

No matter what the end result would have been, it was a strong year for Young, who played in 161 games in his first full season in the big leagues. Advanced metrics were split on him, with Outs Above Average ranking him only in the ninth percentile. However, Defensive Runs Saved credited him with 16 DRS above average, the most of any second baseman in the American League.

He led the American League in games played at second base (157), and also led all major league second basemen in putouts (223) and assists (397). He led the American League in double plays (79) and fielding percentage (.990). He was fourth in the American League Defensive WAR (2.3), per Baseball Reference.

As good as Young was, there is still room to grow. He will have to keep working on his arm, where he ranked in just the second percentile. However, he has a quick release which helped him on multiple occasions, like on the play above.

As mentioned above, Young is the third Mariners player to ever win the Gold Glove at second base: Bret Boone won the award three times (2002-04), and Harold Reynolds also won it three times (1988-1990).

Dylan Moore, who saw a lot of time at second base in his Mariners career, won the Gold Glove at the utility position in 2024.

Monday is a big day for the Mariners, potentially on multiple fronts.

On one hand, the Mariners could hire their newest manager that day. They are reportedly down to the last stages of their search.

On the other hand, the M's also have to have 40-man roster compliance by 2 p.m. PT. They are also expected to make a qualifying offer to pending free agent Randy Arozarena, who is coming off back-to-back All-Star appearances. We covered the offseason calendar here.

The latest podcast is out, featuring ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney.

With Olney, we talked about the managerial search, the underwhelming feel of it, and much more, including the M's decision to decline the contract option on starting pitcher Bryce Miller. Remember, Miller will still be on the roster next season, just at a different financial value.