Ranking MLB’s 10 Best Third Basemen

Sports Illustrated is ranking the top 10 MLB players at each position. So far, we’ve covered catchers, first basemen and second basemen. Today, we're focusing on third basemen.

Third base remains a glamour spot in baseball, where much is expected from the players who man it. Not only must they strive to be elite defenders at a physically demanding position—it's not called the hot corner for nothing—but they're also expected to hit like a slugger. MLB’s current group of players at third is deep, talented and well-rounded. Some older stars are giving way as young guys push their way to the top of this list.

Here are our picks for the 10 best across baseball.

10. Nolan Arenado, Diamondbacks

We love a veteran bounce-back story, especially when it comes from one of the best ever at his position. Arenado’s offensive numbers took a hit when the Rockies traded him to the Cardinals after the shortened 2020 season and the 35-year-old’s once stellar defensive metrics have become merely above-average as he’s aged. That said, he’s still a 10-time Gold Glove winner, an eight-time All-Star and will likely wind up in the Hall of Fame when all is said and done. In 2022, he did have the best season of his career in St. Louis when he hit .293 with an .891 OPS, 30 home runs, 103 RBIs and career highs in wRC+ (149) and bWAR (7.9). Arenado landed with the Diamondbacks this winter, and it has paid off for both parties. He’s slashing .267/.326/.435 with six home runs, 18 RBIs, a 114 wRC+ and 1.0 bWAR so far.

9. Miguel Vargas, White Sox

Track record plays a big role in these rankings, but sometimes you have to throw the methodology out the window in a special case. The roll Vargas is on in 2026 is exactly that. A 26-year-old who had never really found a role in the big leagues, the White Sox third baseman has exploded this season. He’s currently slashing .239/.375/.479 with nine home runs, 23 RBIs and a 139 wRC+, but his underlying metrics suggest he’s been even better. Vargas’s Statcast page is so red it looks like a crime scene. His xSLG (.540), xwOBA (.406) and chase rate (16.1%) are all among the best in baseball. He’s also barreling the ball 15.5% of the time, and his walk rate has jumped to 16.5%. Entering the season he’d produced 0.9 bWAR in his four-year career. He has already doubled that at 1.8. He’s an average defender at third, but his bat has woken up to get him on this list.

8. Bo Bichette, Mets

Bichette is new to the position and hasn’t been good since moving over, so he’s a tough guy to rank. A two-time All-Star who led the AL in hits twice with the Blue Jays, the 28-year-old played shortstop in Toronto before moving to the hot corner when he signed a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets this winter. In his first 41 games, he slashed .223/.272/.289 with two home runs, 17 RBIs and a woeful wRC+ of 62. On the flip side, he’s gone from being one of baseball’s worst shortstops to a decent defender at third. Since he debuted in 2019, Bichette has been remarkably consistent at the plate, slashing .290/.333/.460 with a 119 wRC+ and 20.4 bWAR. His bat will carry him, but his defense has gotten a bump at third.

7. Matt Chapman, Giants

Chapman has only been named to a single All-Star team in his career, but boasts five Gold Gloves on his résumé, and has been consistent at the plate. The 33-year-old hasn’t been at his peak since joining the Giants, but his defensive prowess continues to keep him high in this ranking. He has struggled to start this year, but as recently as 2024 enjoyed one of his best seasons, recording a .790 OPS with 27 home runs, 78 RBIs and a 121 wRC+ while producing 7.1 bWAR. He may never hit that high again, but he’s still a fantastic defender with veteran knowhow at the plate.

6. Max Muncy, Dodgers

Playing in the shadows of three future Hall of Famers in Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, Muncy has quietly been a key cog in the Dodgers’ robust machinery for the last several years, a patient and powerful threat who lurks behind Los Angeles’s three-headed dragon in the lineup. But with Ohtani slumping, Betts missing 32 games due to injury and Freeman perhaps slowing at the plate just a bit at age 36, Muncy has been the Dodgers’ best hitter in 2026. He ranks 13th among all qualified batters in wRC+ (156), but he’s been more than just a threat at the plate. Never particularly known for his work with the glove, Muncy suddenly is tied for the lead among third basemen in outs above average and is tied for second in defensive runs saved. That is a welcome development for the Dodgers, who re-signed the 35-year-old this offseason.

5. Alex Bregman, Cubs

Bregman’s incredible impact can be measured both with and without statistics. At his peak in 2019, he scored 100-plus runs, drove in 100-plus runs and walked 100-plus times while finishing second in AL MVP voting. He’s one of the best postseason hitters ever, co-leading the Astros’ late-2010s, early-2020s dynasty. And he’s a strong defender who ranks fifth among all third basemen in defensive runs saved since entering the big leagues in 2016. But the 32-year-old’s greatest value won't show up in the box score, as he’s a veteran leader who’s invested in helping younger players take the next step. The Red Sox' Roman Anthony and the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong are among those he's taken under his wing.

4. Manny Machado, Padres

Machado is one of the smoothest defenders in baseball and makes highlight-reel plays on a near-weekly basis. If it weren't for Arenado, he’d be widely considered the best defensive third baseman of his era. With the bat, Machado has been incredibly consistent as he’s aged. Every year, the seven-time All-Star winds up around 30 home runs, 100 RBIs, and with an OPS in the .800 range. He also shows up every day and is a true grinder, gritting his way through injuries that would sideline most players. Since 2020, he ranks second among MLB third basemen in RBIs (566) and bWAR (24.9), is third in wRC+ (126) and fourth in home runs (168) and xwOBA (.351). He's been named first team All-MLB twice and has two Silver Sluggers in that time. Machado is a no-doubt future Hall of Famer, and despite his age, is still getting it done.

3. Maikel Garcia, Royals

Garcia was an All-Star for the first time in 2025 and it’s not hard to see why. The Venezuela native was a force at the plate and in the field for the Royals, as he led all third basemen in hits (170) while flashing the leather to the tune of the most defensive runs saved among AL third basemen (13), ultimately winning a Gold Glove. A fixture in the Royals lineup and the club’s best hitter not named Bobby Witt Jr., Garcia is one of the more underrated players in baseball. The 26-year-old has opened this year slashing .282/.349/.429 with three home runs, 17 RBIs, a 116 wRC+ and 1.4 bWAR. He's a fantastic two-way player who could move up this list.

2. Junior Caminero, Rays

A slugger with a lightning-quick swing and as much raw power as anyone in the game, Caminero burst onto the scene in his first full year in the big leagues in 2025. He ranked among the top five third basemen in hits (159), home runs (45), RBIs (110), average exit velocity (92.4 mph) and barrel rate (14.0). This season, the 22-year-old has slashed .255/.341/.484 with 11 home runs, 19 RBIs and a 128 wRC+. He's not a great defender at third, but he more than makes up for those deficiencies with his bat. Caminero has proven he can thrive on some of the game’s biggest stages. He put on a show in last year's Home Run Derby and was one of the most dangerous and productive hitters for the Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic. Caminero is built for October baseball, which he may get his first taste of with the resurgent Rays in 2026. 

1. José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians

Is there anything Ramírez can’t do? Like another former longtime Cleveland star, the 33-year-old could seemingly have a strong case for league MVP every year thanks to his five-tool skillset. Since 2017, he ranks among the top 10 hitters in runs scored (860), home runs (272), RBIs (845) and stolen bases (261), all while posting a minuscule 12.1% strikeout rate. In that time, he also leads all MLB third basemen in runs, wRC+ (136), slugging (.522) and bWAR (51.1). Only Aaron Judge and Mookie Betts have accumulated more bWAR than Ramírez during that span. It’s difficult to overstate just how much Ramírez means to the Guardians, whom he has helped to the postseason in eight of 14 seasons. 

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