Andy Pagés, center fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is at the center of one of the closest races for the Gold Glove in the National League 2026, separated by just one-tenth of a point from the leader in the key defensive metric of Major League Baseball.
According to data from the SABR Defensive Index published by Pelota Cubana USA, updated as of July 12 —the date of the All-Star Game—, Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs led the position with a SDI of 10.6, while the Cuban was close behind with 10.5.
The gap with the other central outfielders in the National League was immense: Jacob Young of the Washington Nationals ranked as the third candidate with just 3.9 points in that metric, highlighting the level of dominance both players have had over the rest of the competition.
Pagés' performance becomes even more significant when compared to the entire MLB. In that update, only Cody Bellinger, the left fielder for the Yankees, and Matt Chapman, the third baseman for the Giants, surpassed him, both with a score of 10.7. This placed the Cuban among the top five defenders in Major League Baseball, regardless of position.
As noted by Pelota Cubana USA, "the defense of PCA and Pagés has been so elite that in all of MLB, they are only surpassed by Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman. One of the two will be left without winning the Gold Glove despite being in the Top 5 of the SABR Defensive Index in the entire Big Show."
The SDI is not the only indicator that benefits the Cuban player. Midway through the season, Pagés was leading the center fielders in the National League in Defensive Runs Saved with 17, ahead of Crow-Armstrong, who had accumulated 12.
The selection process for the Gold Glove combines the SDI — which represents 25% of the evaluation — with votes from managers and coaches, which account for the remaining 75%. This means that while the advanced defensive metric is favorable to both candidates, it is not decisive on its own.
Crow-Armstrong arrives at this matchup as the defending champion: he won the 2025 Gold Glove in that same position, becoming the youngest center fielder to win that award in Cubs history and only the second to achieve it since Bob Dernier in 1984.
The defensive candidacy of Pagés is set against a high-level 2026 season in all aspects. The Habanero started the year leading MLB in batting average at .413 after 12 games, won the National League Player of the Week award in April after batting .583 with two home runs and seven RBIs, and on May 7, he hit three home runs in a single game against the Houston Astros.
In July, he was selected for the All-Star Game for the first time, where he had a batting average of .269 with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs in 88 games. By the end of that month, he had already accumulated 18 home runs and an fWAR of 3.3, ranking him as the third most valuable center fielder in all of MLB.
If both maintain their level until the end of the season, one of the two elite defenders will miss out on the most prestigious award in defensive baseball, making this battle one of the year's most intriguing dilemmas in Major League Baseball.
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