The 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners were announced tonight on ESPN, and the Mets had three finalists in the running for the National League awards: Carson Benge at right field, Luis Torrens at catcher, and Nolan McLean at starting pitcher.
Luis Torrens:This was Torrens' second year in a row as a Gold Glove finalist. Ostensibly a backup catcher, he was behind the dish in 86 games for 673.2 innings. His Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) was +12, his Fielding Run Value (FRV) was +10, and his pop time was 1.86 seconds. His fWAR was 2.1. Not all of his competition this evening played full-time either. He faced Freddy Fermin, who played 660.2 innings as catcher for the Padres, and Gabriel Moreno of the Diamondbacks, who played a more regular 886.0 innings as their first-string backstop. Ultimately, Moreno, who also ranked second in DRS among catchers, took home the Gold Glove.
Nolan McLean (winner):In 31 games (179.2 innings), McLean tallied +4 DRS (fifth among major-league pitchers), 16 putouts, and 24 assists. Runners only attempted to steal eight times when he was on the mound in all of 2026. He had an impressive rookie campaign, with an fWAR of 3.5, and is also a contender for Rookie of the Year. McLean won against Michael McGreevey of the Cardinals and Chris Sale of the Braves. He is the first rookie pitcher to win a Gold Glove. Ron Darling is the only other Mets pitcher to win, when he did so in 1989.
Carson Benge:Deemed to have the most valuable arm in baseball (as measured by Statcast's aptly-named metric, Arm Value), Benge had 259 putouts and 10 assists from the outfield in 2026. He played in right field for 134 games and 1140.0 innings. During that time, his DRS and FRV were both +6. Overall, his fWAR was 4.3. His defense is one reason that he is a contender for Rookie of the Year alongside McLean. Benge faced Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs, who had the second-highest DRS among right fielders, and the winner, Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks, who was in the 95th percentile among right fielders in outs above average (10).
Platinum Glove voting begins on Rawlings.com and goes through November 5 at 11:59 PM ET. The winner will be determined by the fan vote and the SABR Defensive Index (SDI) and announced on November 6 during the Rawlings Gold Glove Award Ceremony.
