The Top 5 Utility Players in Major League Baseball for 2026
These multi-positional talents find ways to contribute no matter where they're stationed on the diamond.
Major League Baseball teams value versatility more and more every season. A title once reserved for “glue guys” or Quadruple-A players is now among the most important roles on a team.
It sort of started with Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The switch-hitter provided Tampa Bay with very good offense and solid defense across several positions. Fast forward to 2025, now 2026, and teams value those players universally.
It’s not always a player the caliber of Zobrist, but you’ll often see it’s the utilityman, or Swiss Army Knife, making big plays for his team in October.
This is a continuation of our series of ranking the top players in MLB at every position. This one is unique in the sense that these players play multiple, even several. Without further ado, let’s rank the top five heading into 2026.
The voting group for Just Baseball’s 2026 position lists comprised editors Ryan Finkelstein, Leo Morgenstern, Eric Treuden, and Joey Peterson, as well as Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton, Peter Appel, Peyton Ginas and Jack McMullen.
Each individual ranked players 1-5, and those outside of their top 5 received a numerical value of 10. The rankings were then averaged out, with the lowest mean score being best.
Honorable Mentions
- Tommy Edman (Los Angeles Dodgers)
- Josh Smith (Texas Rangers)
Who’s to say how different this ranking looks if Edman didn’t battle injuries again last season? Unfortunately, the 2024 NLCS MVP dealt with them all year, limiting him to just 97 regular season games. Overall, he just didn’t provide the same kind of impact at the dish as he has in the past.
That said, his defense is still sublime. At second base last year, the 30-year-old posted five outs above average in 525.1 innings.
As for Smith, 2025 was his second strong campaign in a row, albeit a step back from 2024. He slashed .251/.338/.366 with 10 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 144 games. He improved in walk and strikeout rate and improved as a baserunner. Although, he did see a 7% dip in his pull air rate and a near equal dip in hard-hit rate.
Still, he’s a utilityman who plays every single day. Last year, he logged games everywhere except pitcher and catcher.
5. Jake Cronenworth (San Diego Padres)
- Average Ranking: 6.38
- 2025 Stats: 135 G, .246/.367/.377, 20 2B, 11 HR, 59 RBI, 61 R, 3 SB, 13.4 BB%, 117 wRC+, 2.9 fWAR
- Saw Time At: 2B (118 G), 1B (13 G), SS (13 G)
The 2025 campaign was a return to previous standards for the 32-year-old Cronenworth. After three straight years with a sub-110 wRC+, the utilityman for the Padres posted a 117 wRC+ in 135 games last season.
He may have overperformed his expected data, but Cronenworth ranked tied for 11th among qualifiers with a .367 OBP.
With Luis Arraez primarily playing first base, Cronenworth mostly stuck to second. However, should Arraez depart in free agency, that opens the door for a return to that Swiss Army Knife role that made the veteran look like a perennial three-win player.
4. Jeff McNeil (Athletics)
- Average Ranking: 6
- 2025 Stats: 122 G, .243/.335/.411, 21 2B, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 42 R, 3 SB, 10.6 BB%, 111 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR
- Saw Time At: 2B (79 G), CF (34 G), LF (10 G), RF (7 G), 1B (2 G)
It was a bit of a sour departure from Queens, but McNeil will bring great value to a very young Athletics team in 2026.
He’s not the same hitter he was through 2022, when he routinely cleared a 130 wRC+. But the .327 xwOBA last year was his highest mark since 2020. In addition to that, he posted a career-best 10.6% walk rate and 11.9% strikeout rate (minimum 250 plate appearances).
What took McNeil up another notch, despite not being an elite hitter, was taking to center field. While he wasn’t vying for the Gold Glove out there, he was more than passable. Giving the A’s five-plus positions at which to play him, there’s no reason he can’t remain a highly productive player.
3. Addison Barger (Toronto Blue Jays)
- Average Ranking: 3.63
- 2025 Stats: 135 G, .243/.301/.454, 32 2B, 21 HR, 74 RBI, 61 R, 4 SB, 7.2 BB%, 107 wRC+, 2.2 fWAR
- Saw Time At: 3B (91 G), RF (57 G)
It’s hard to look at Barger and not anticipate a breakout campaign in 2026. Despite showing a slightly above-average 107 wRC+ last year, he hit the daylights out of the baseball.
He was 93rd percentile for bat speed, 86th percentile for average exit velocity, and 70th percentile for barrel rate. He also hit 21 home runs and was a vital piece of a Blue Jays team that nearly won it all.
Barger did struggle in the second half, and overall, he dealt with whiff issues, but on the whole, he was a very productive ballplayer last season.
He wasn’t sterling at either defensive position he called home, but he’s got a cannon for an arm as well. Everything about Barger is powerful.
2. Ernie Clement (Toronto Blue Jays)
- Average Ranking: 2.3
- 2025 Stats: 157 G, .277/.313/.398, 35 2B, 9 HR, 50 RBI, 83 R, 6 SB, 4.6 BB%, 98 wRC+, 3.2 fWAR
- Saw Time At: 3B (89 G), 2B (60 G), SS (29 G), 1B (15 G)
It was a historic postseason for Clement in 2025, setting the league record for hits in a single playoffs.
Since becoming a full-time player for the Blue Jays, the 29-year-old is one of the best bat-to-ball guys in the business. In addition to being a tough guy to strike out, he’s a tough guy to hit a ball past.
Defensively, he’s fantastic. In 2025, he posted 15 outs above average across five positions. Couple elite defense with a sizeable chunk of playing time on the middle infield, and it doesn’t take a great bat to accumulate 3.0 fWAR. The past two seasons, he has 5.3 fWAR in 296 games.
1. Brendan Donovan (St. Louis Cardinals)
- Average Ranking: 1
- 2025 Stats: 118 G, .287/.353/.422, 32 2B, 10 HR, 50 RBI, 64 R, 3 SB, 8.2 BB%, 119 wRC+, 2.9 fWAR
- Saw Time At: 2B (100 G), LF (18 G), SS (6 G)
There’s a reason there’s a strong market for Donovan as a trade target this offseason.
Since becoming a big leaguer in 2022, the left-handed hitter has a career slash line of .282/.361/.411 and a 119 wRC+. In that span, he’s tied for 17th in batting average and tied for 13th in on-base percentage.
Donovan’s glove is steady wherever you put him. While his Cardinals teams have only made it to one postseason during his career, he’s the exact type of player a contending team wants.
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