Brooks Lee Earns Gold Glove Finalist Honors

[Cody Christie]

Brooks Lee has earned a spot among the American League’s best defensive players. The Minnesota Twins infielder was named one of three finalists for the 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award at third base on Wednesday. Lee is joined by Boston Red Sox infielder Caleb Durbin and Kansas City Royals infielder Nick Loftin. The winners will be announced on ESPN on Sunday, November 1.

Lee's nomination is particularly impressive considering how his defensive season began. After spending most of his first two big-league seasons at shortstop, he struggled at the position again in 2026. A move across the infield helped change his season, turning a potential defensive liability into a player receiving recognition for his work with the glove.

A Position Change Makes a Difference

Lee entered professional baseball as a shortstop and continued to receive opportunities at the position after reaching the majors. However, the early returns were not encouraging. He finished both 2024 and 2025 with a minus-3 Fielding Run Value (FRV), a Statcast metric that measures a defender's contribution compared with an average player.

The struggles continued into 2026. Lee posted -6 Outs Above Average (OAA) in limited action at shortstop, making it difficult for the Twins to justify keeping him there as his primary position. The club needed to find a better defensive fit for the young infielder.

Third base provided that opportunity. Lee excelled after moving to the hot corner, recording +6 OAA during the 2026 season. The improvement was substantial, especially when compared with his previous results at shortstop. 

The position change also gave the Twins a clearer picture of Lee's potential moving forward. His defensive performance at third base suggests he could become a long-term option at the position, provided he continues to build on the progress he made this season.

A Difficult Competition

Lee's Gold Glove candidacy comes with some formidable competition. Durbin appears to be the favorite after an impressive defensive campaign with Boston. At the most recent SABR Defensive Index update, Durbin posted an 8.8 SDI, nearly three times Loftin's mark in second place. Durbin also recorded plus-6 FRV and plus-6 OAA at third base. Those numbers give him a compelling case to take home the award.

Loftin is another worthy finalist, making this a competitive group. Lee's nomination, however, represents an important milestone in his development. After entering the season with questions about his defense, he established himself as a credible candidate for one of baseball's most recognized individual defensive awards.

Twins manager Derek Shelton has expressed confidence that Lee can become a Gold Glove winner at third base. This season's finalist selection offers evidence that such an outcome is realistic.

The next step could be giving Lee a full season at third base in 2027. A consistent role would allow him to continue developing his instincts, improve his familiarity with the position, and demonstrate that his defensive success can be sustained over an entire campaign.

Lee might not win his first Gold Glove this year, particularly with Durbin's strong credentials. Still, becoming a finalist is a significant achievement for a player whose season began with defensive concerns.

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[Sampson5]

Definitely think he can win a gold glove in the next few years a little curious why he didn't start the year at 3rd year prior showed he wasn't a SS and it's not like Royce was more passable at 3rd . His next step is continue to improve as a hitter and then he can be the long term 3rd basemen 

[Rufus]

Because Lewis was at third, the Twins needed a SS, that was where Lee preferred to play and he deserved a shot to earn the position.  He proved he was a team player by agreeing to and embracing the move.

[mnfireman]

16 hours ago, Sampson5 said:

a little curious why he didn't start the year at 3rd year prior showed he wasn't a SS

Having no other MLB options at the position will do that..

[DJL44]

16 hours ago, Sampson5 said:

Definitely think he can win a gold glove in the next few years a little curious why he didn't start the year at 3rd year prior showed he wasn't a SS and it's not like Royce was more passable at 3rd . His next step is continue to improve as a hitter and then he can be the long term 3rd basemen 

Because the GM is incompetent and thought they could be a contender without a SS.

[saviking]

Really nice going from a below average shortstop to a top not 3rd baseman. Shows his hands were good but his feet were slow. Can't wait to see Houston as short and Culpepper at 2nd. 

I wonder if Kearshall could learn to handle first base. But better if we could have a 30 home run guy there. Maybe Buxton? Save his legs with fewer injuries?

[jmlease1]

17 hours ago, Sampson5 said:

Definitely think he can win a gold glove in the next few years a little curious why he didn't start the year at 3rd year prior showed he wasn't a SS and it's not like Royce was more passable at 3rd . His next step is continue to improve as a hitter and then he can be the long term 3rd basemen 

Royce had showed he could field 3B just fine, and without a better option available at SS it made some sense to see whether or not Lee could hold it down while we waited on development from guys like Culpepper and Houston. It didn't work, but the other options weren't great, especially while still trying to make it work with Keaschall at 2B. It's easy to drop 20/20 hindsight, but giving up on Keaschall at 2B before the season even started and benching Lewis (or moving him to 1B) and handing SS to Kreidler/Gray to start the season is vaguely nuts, just to accommodate Lee's move to 3B.

nice for Lee to get GG consideration at 3B already. He's quite good there, and his lack of range hurts much less, and his arm is just fine, especially when he has the opportunity to set and throw. If he can continue to grow as a hitter (chase less, my brother!), adding some additional walks while retaining the power he showed this year, he's going to be a very good 3B, especially with that quality defense.

[nicksaviking]

2 hours ago, mnfireman said:

Having no other MLB options at the position will do that..

Right, the goal was for Kreidler, Gray and Arcia NOT to play.

It would be great if the Twins had their long term 3B option now set. Need to see the OBP pushed to the .320 range at least though. Without that stability, we'll probably be getting more of a frustratingly streaky Eduardo Escobar situation. Big improvement over last year for Lee though, so I think he can do it.