Mauricio Dubón is more than just good glove for Braves

When the Astros decided they didn’t want to risk paying Mauricio Dubón up to $4 million in salary arbitration, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos saw an opportunity.

Dubón could be insurance against striking out on other moves during the offseason. So, the Braves acquired Dubón in exchange for a lesser utility player, Nick Allen, and then gave Dubón a pay bump to $6.1 million.

Anthopoulos couldn’t tell Dubón what role he’d play with the Braves, but that didn’t matter to Dubón.

“I was ready to go,” he said. “He gave me a chance. I told him I was going to make him look smart.”

Dubón is keeping his word. He’s not only been a valuable utility player for the Braves by filling in ably at four positions; he’s also off to a good start at the plate.

Dubón has hit .256 in 169 plate appearances with a .314 on-base percentage, three home runs, 10 doubles and two triples (.717 OPS). He’s on track to produce the best OBP and extra-base hit percentage of his career for a full season.

The Braves knew they were getting a good defender. The pop from Dubón’s bat is a pleasant surprise.

“I always thought he was a good at-bat,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “But he’s hit some homers, he’s got a bunch of RBIs (25). He’s been really clutch and got some big hits for us. (His approach) is high contact.

“That’s why I’ve hit him in the middle of the order at times. I’ve even hit him cleanup at times. Because I don’t think you necessarily have to be a big power hitter to hit cleanup,” Weiss added. “A lot of times it’s about making contact and getting the ball in play, and that’s what Dubón has done so well.”

Dubón had his best full season as a hitter in 2023 with the Astros. He played 132 games and hit 10 home runs, 26 doubles and three triples. He also earned the first of his two career Gold Gloves that season.

Dubón said he looked at video of his at-bats from 2023 and changed his batting stance for this year.

“Just stay more grounded with my feet, that’s all,” he said. “Nothing crazy.”

Dubón’s success at the plate has made it easy for Weiss to put him in the lineup nearly every day. Dubón has started 42 of 44 games and played whenever and wherever the Braves need him in the field.

He was the regular shortstop until Ha-Seong Kim returned from the injured list this week. He was the center fielder when Michael Harris II was on the paternity list.

Dubón played third base when slumping slugger Austin Riley got a day off. He has played left field when Mike Yastrzemski sat against left-handed starters and when Yastrzemski filled in for injured right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr.

Dubón said that, like many good young players, he always played shortstop while growing up. That was his position with the Brewers and Giants during his MLB debut season in 2019. The Giants asked Dubón to try center field the next year and later added more positions to the list.

“Then, all of a sudden, I started playing all seven,” Dubón said.

How does he play so many positions at a high level?

“It’s baseball, man,” he said. “You’ve got to be a baseball player. It’s kind of like when you are in the backyard and you are playing with your buddies. ‘I’m gonna play left. No, no, no, I’m gonna play third.’

“It’s the same thing. Go out there and have fun. I think the most important thing is catch the ball.”

Dubón makes it sound easy, but there are only a handful of utility players who stick around in the majors nowadays. They usually play no more than four positions. Dubón was an exception in Houston.

Per Baseball Reference, Baltimore’s Blaze Alexander has played six positions this season and Miami’s Javier Sanoja has played five. Alexander has a .588 OPS in 100 plate appearances. Sanoja has a .615 OPS in 95 PAs.