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buster olney
multiple authors
Spring training camps are underway, which means it’s time to look at the state of baseball. As part of our 2026 MLB season preview, ESPN’s Buster Olney surveyed people from across the industry to help rank the top 10 players at every position as part of his annual positional rankings series.
Today, we rank the best of the best on third base.
The aim of this exercise is to identify the best players for the 2026 season and not who can be the best in five years or in their careers. We will be releasing one post per day over the next two weeks. Here’s the rest of the schedule: Starting pitchers (February 16), relief pitcher (February 17), catchers (February 18), first baseman (February 19), second baseman (February 20), shortstop (Tuesday), corner outfielder (Wednesday), center fielder (Thursday), designated hitter (Friday).
jose ramirez Now signed through the 2032 season, meaning he theoretically has seven more seasons to add to his amazing career. At some point this coming summer, he’ll hit the 300th home run of his career — we can assume that’s because he’s got 285 and has hit at least 17 homers in nine consecutive seasons, including the 60-game COVID season. And at some point this summer, he’ll pick up his 300th career stolen base, which we can assume he’ll do since he’s already collected 287 – 85 over the past two years.
Brooks Robinson set a standard for defense at third base. Eddie Matthews and Mike Schmidt were the best power hitters to play the position. Adrian Beltre should have been a unanimous selection for the Hall of Fame. There’s George Brate, Wade Boggs, Chipper Jones and Alex Rodriguez (who was a shortstop for half his career).
But is Ramirez about to join the conversation for greatest third baseman of all time?
He finished third in MVP voting last year, the seventh top-6 finish of his career. He has won six Silver Slugger Awards. He is approaching 2,000 career hits.
I asked colleague Tim Kurkjian about Ramirez’s place in history. “He’s a surefire future Hall of Famer,” Kurkjian said. “He’s already on the Mount Rushmore of baseball in Cleveland.
“Only Bob Feller made more All-Star teams than Ramirez, and when [Ramirez’s] When the contract expires, he will have spent 24 years with the organization. He has a chance to replace Feller as the greatest player in Cleveland history.”
Terry Francona managed Ramirez for the first 11 seasons of his career. “He’s what every manager is looking for,” Francona wrote in a text. “You don’t manage him – you harass him and stay out of his way. I love everything about him. He took command of the clubhouse.”
Ramirez is the king of the mountain on our list of top third basemen.
Top 10 third basemen
1. jose ramirez, cleveland patron
There has long been debate over whether there is such a thing as a clutch, and we won’t pretend to know the answer to the big question. But it’s undeniable that Ramirez has been the more productive hitter with runners in scoring position over the past two years.
2025: 143 plate appearances .321 BA/.458 OBP/.519 SLG
2024: 170 PA .326/.394/.597
2. junior caminero, tampa bay rays
Only four players hit more than Caminero’s 45 homers last season — cal raleigh, aaron judge, kyle schwarber, shohei ohtani And eugenio suarez — and Caminero is 22 years old. The guy just destroys fastballs – he batted .333 with a .742 slugging percentage against four-seam fastballs last year, and 27 of his homers were against four-seamers or sinkers. With the Rays moving back to Tropicana Field this season, it will be interesting to see how Caminero performs in a park that is less friendly as the team’s 2025 home Steinbrenner Field, where Caminero batted .313 as opposed to .218 on the road.
3. The expectation that Bregman would excel at Fenway Park, theoretically the venue best suited for his swing, was never fulfilled – he had a .761 OPS at home last year, but .875 in road games. So perhaps the adjustment to pitcher-friendly Wrigley Field won’t be as difficult for Bregman as some have predicted. Bregman turned 32 at the end of March, but he has pushed his exit velocity upward in recent seasons – last year’s 90.1 mph average matched his career high – and as an above-average defender, he becomes part of what the Cubs expect to be MLB’s best defense.
4. manny machado, San Diego Padres
Like Ramírez, Machado is moving up the list of the best third basemen of all-time. He needs 41 homers to reach .400, a feat that will likely happen sometime in 2027, and he’s at 61.7 WAR for his career. He’s about to surpass Hall of Famer Todd Helton on that list, and over the course of the season, he could surpass Dave Winfield, Jackie Robinson, Andrew Jones and Shoeless Joe Jackson, among others.
5. Maikel Garcia, kansas city royals
Last year was a breakout season for the Kansas City infielder, who had 60 of 170 extra-base hits for the season, with an OPS+ of 123. K’Brian Hayes Generally considered the best defender at the position, García led AL third basemen in defensive runs and scored 13 runs and struck out 18 above average, winning the AL Gold Glove Award.
6. matt chapman, san francisco giants
The five-time Gold Glove winner’s WAR dropped from 7.1 in 2024 to 4.1 last year, but he was still the leader at the position. Chapman is slowly going through some changes at the plate. He dropped his strikeout rate to 23.6% last season, his lowest since playing for Oakland in 2019, and his 13.3% walk rate was the highest in his career.
7. Bichette demonstrated in the World Series that no matter how many layups he faced, he still had rare ability as a hitter. Even after missing seven weeks, he became an immediate threat – he had eight hits in 23 at-bats, with four walks and four homers – and the Mets bought in big for a player who has twice led his league in hits and has a career average of .294. He will be suitable to bat behind juan soto In the Mets’ lineup. The defensive challenges are real for Bichette, as he moves from shortstop to third base. Rival evaluators have noted that at shortstop, he almost never dives for ground balls – the step-and-dive is primary to playing third in the big leagues – and there is some inconsistency in his throwing. Great stars like Cal Ripken and Alex Rodriguez initially struggled with the transition from shortstop to third base.
8. max munsey, los angeles dodgers
Dodgers coach Bob Geren has provided special customized seats in front of the L.A. dugout, dedicating those spots to players who lock in on every pitch during a game. one of those bears freddy freemanName of; The second is from Muncy, who focuses in-depth on how opposing pitchers are trying to do things. Muncy’s destructive performance against right-handed pitching continues: Last year, he had a slash line of .267/.409/.514 against right-handers.
9. Austin Riley, atlanta braves
Riley had season-ending core surgery in August – the problem was previously known as a sports hernia – and this spring he has told the staff he is feeling much better. The Braves hope so because they need Riley to be the player he is from 2021-23, after he generated an astonishing 18.7 WAR with 104 doubles and 108 homers for an OPS+ of 135. Riley is under contract for the next seven seasons.
10. carlos correa, Houston Astros
When Correa failed his physical exams with the Giants and Mets as a free agent before the 2023 season due to ankle problems, there was concern that the previous injury would begin to affect him in his early 30s. His production was great in 2024, when he had an OPS of .905 for the Twins, but last year, his numbers dropped to .276/.332/.402 with 42 extra-base hits in 584 plate appearances. He will play the majority of this season at age 31, making it his first full year playing third base. The Astros really value his leadership in the infield.
honorable mentions
Jordan Westberg, baltimore orioles: : A nod here to Westberg’s production and his ability when he was on the field. But he’s been hurt again, tearing a ligament in his elbow – a brutal injury for Baltimore. If he responds to treatment, it will be interesting to see if he stays at third base when he returns, or if the O’s move him to second to take pressure off his throwing.
addison barger, toronto blue jays: : Okay, I’m going to cheat a little by putting Barger here, because with a $60 million signing Kazuma OkamotoIt’s possible that Barger won’t see as many reps at third base this season after starting 67 games in 2025 and coming off the bench to play in 24 others. We will see. But many evaluators came away from the World Series believing that no matter where Barger played, he would hurt opposing pitchers. He went 22 for 60, showing plenty of skill at the plate, with 3 homers, 8 walks and 12 strikeouts in October.
Caleb Durbin, boston red sox: : Durbin would fit in perfectly with the Red Sox’s effort to build a pitching-and-defense team, and like many others in the Boston lineup, he is good at getting on base (.334 OBP in his rookie season) and putting the ball in play.
matt shawChicago Cubs: Shaw outperformed expectations on defense last year, but with the addition of Bregman, he will take on a more utility role, including playing in the outfield.
Kebryan Hayes, cincinnati reds: : Hayes is here because of his defensive dominance. He led all third basemen in defensive runs saved (19) and strikeouts above average (22) last season.
alec bohm, philadelphia phillies: : It’s a big year for Philadelphia’s third baseman. He will be a free agent this fall, and the Phillies explored the idea of bringing in at least one more infielder, bo bichetWhich may have influenced Boehm’s position. Bohm had a wRC+ of 105 last season, but he was much better in the second half, batting .305 with a .358 OBP in his last 64 games.
Ryan McMahon, New York Yankees: : New York expected McMahon to help promote Yankee Stadium for left-handed hitters, but he had an OPS+ of 81 after the acquisition from Colorado. But his exceptionally smooth defense earns him a place here.
Eugenio Suarez, Cincinnati Reds: With Hayes being such a strong defender, we will assume for these lists that Suárez will get the bulk of his plate appearances at DH.
