The Atlanta Braves made a minor splash when they traded shortstop Nick Allen to the Houston Astros for utility player Mauricio Dubón on Wednesday, but there was uncertainty about what Dubón's role would be.
The 31-year-old, who agreed to a $6.1 million salary with the Braves in his final year of arbitration eligibility, is going to earn roughly $4.5 million more than the player he was traded for, but that doesn't mean he's in line for the starting shortstop role.
In fact, for this to make the most sense for the Braves, Dubón shouldn't be the starting at shortstop for the Braves on Opening Day at all.
Mauricio Dubón makes the most sense as a super-utility player
While Dubón's bat is certainly an upgrade from Nick Allen, it is far from exceptional. In fact, with a .241/.289/.355 slashline and an 80 wRC+, Dubón is more adjacent to 2024 Orlando Arcia than he is to a league-average bat.
His 2025 season at the plate wasn't an aberration either. In fact, in Dubón's seven seasons in the majors, he's never cracked the 100 wRC+ mark, full season or otherwise, and has a career 85 wRC+. The closest he's come was in 2020, where he slashed .274/.337/.389 with a 99 wRC+ in 54 games with the Giants.
Simply put, there should be no expectation for Dubón to be anything besides a below-average hitter.
If the Braves are serious about improving at shortstop, where they were collectively the worst in the league at the plate, going from Nick Allen and a small sprinkling of Ha-Seong Kim to Mauricio Dubón won't be the upgrade the club needs.
However, this doesn't mean that this was a bad deal. Shortly after the trade was official, Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos stated that the Braves are continuing to search for an everyday shortstop as well. Dubón's bat is certainly passable if he's playing a different role.
Dubón's greatest strength isn't that he somehow managed to put up eight outs above average in 33 games at shortstop in 2025, but rather that he played seven positions while being at least average defensively at every single position and put up a cumulative 20 OAA in 2025. This defensive effort earned him his second career Gold Glove.
Committing to a bat with Dubón's pedigree as an everyday player from the start of the season is questionable, but if the team is tasked with finding an in-season injury replacement, having someone like Dubón could be a difference maker.
Consider the 2025 Braves, who had three primary starters miss at least two months because of injuries or a suspension. Their replacements, Nacho Alvarez, Alex Verdugo, and a combination of Jarred Kelenic, Bryan De La Cruz, Stuart Fairchild, and Eli White were all at least 16% below league-average hitters by wRC+, with only Alvarez and White providing enough defensive value to not sink them into the negative fWAR territory.
If the Braves already have a player on their roster who can fill any position and provide exceptional defense, they can avoid the nightmares of adding players like Verdugo, Eddie Rosario, Jose Azocar, or any of the countless fringe players they tested out last season.
Additionally, with the DH spot still vacant, the Braves can plug and play Dubón in a Ben Zobrist-like manner, while giving their stars like Ronald Acuña Jr. a semi-day off at DH, still giving Dubón semi-regular playing time without giving him 500+ plate appearances a season.
If the Braves commit to Dubón as an everyday shortstop, they would instantly lose all of the flexibility that makes the utility player so valuable. While Dubón's $6.1 million 2026 salary might initially seem high if he's locked into a bench role, it will be more valuable than if he's simply the shortstop.