Chase for the gold: Meidroth named Gold Glove finalist

Chase Meidroth spent the 2026 season taking hits away. Now, he has a chance to take home some hardware.

The White Sox second baseman is one of three finalists for the 2026 Rawlings American League Gold Glove Award at his position, joining Kansas City’s Michael Massey and Seattle’s Cole Young. It’s the first nomination for Meidroth in just his second big league season, and he’s the lone South Sider in this year’s Gold Glove field.

After spending most of his rookie campaign at shortstop in 2025, Meidroth shifted over to second and made himself right at home. He led all AL second basemen with a +10 Fielding Run Value, giving Chicago a steady glove up the middle. He also graded out as a plus defender in his limited time at shortstop in 2026, because apparently one position wasn’t enough.

And if you’re looking for a little red on a White Sox Baseball Savant page, Meidroth has you covered.

The comparison graphic puts him in the 92nd percentile in FRV, ahead of Massey (83rd) and well above Young (18th). Meidroth and Massey also sit in the 95th percentile in Outs Above Average, while Young checks in at the ninth percentile.

Those numbers are percentile rankings, rather than raw totals, but they paint a pretty convincing picture of Meidroth’s defensive value. His arm strength lands in just the ninth percentile, yet the overall results give him plenty to brag about. There’s more than one way to get an out.

Of course, defensive metrics wouldn’t be defensive metrics if they all agreed.

The Fielding Bible’s Defensive Runs Saved tells a very different story, with Young leading the finalists at 16, followed by Massey with five and Meidroth at zero. That makes this race a little more interesting than simply pointing at the reddest Savant bar and handing over the trophy.

Traditional fielding percentage bunches the three closer together. Massey and Young finished at .990, with Meidroth at .986. Meidroth committed eight errors over 1,275 2/3 innings, putting in plenty of work while settling into his new primary position.

Fielding percentage only tells us what happened on the chances a player was credited with handling. It doesn’t tell the whole story of which balls he reached in the first place. That’s where the broader defensive measurements come in, even if they’re currently having a spirited disagreement about these three.

Each league has three finalists at every position. For the nine standard positions, MLB’s 30 managers and up to six coaches per team vote for players in their own league, excluding members of their own club. Those ballots account for 75% of the selection total, with the SABR Defensive Index supplying the remaining 25%.

ESPN will announce winners on Sunday, Nov. 1.

Meidroth has already turned a position change into his first Gold Glove nomination. Now, we’ll see whether his excellent second season at the keystone ends with a little gold.