Alex Anthopoulos has acknowledged the Braves absolutely must upgrade the shortstop position this offseason. As good as Nick Allen was defensively, he might be the worst offensive player in baseball.
Atlanta hopes to retain Ha-Seong Kim, who they acquired off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays one month before the season ended. Both sides were happy with the marriage, but this is a business, and the Braves are fully aware the price for Kim could get too high given the lack of shortstops on the free-agent market.
If that happens, Atlanta will likely pivot to trade options, and one name they’ve reportedly checked in on, according to Braves beat writer Mark Bowman of MLB.com, is two-time Gold Glove winner Mauricio Dubón.
“There’s always a chance the Braves could try to fill their shortstop void via trade,” Bowman writes. “They have at least inquired about the possibility of acquiring two-time Gold Glove Award winner Mauricio Dubon from the Astros. Dubon has a .677 OPS over the past three seasons combined. He might be an offensive upgrade over Nick Allen.”
Dubón is absolutely an upgrade over Nick Allen offensively, but again, that’s not saying much. He posted just a .644 OPS this season and owns a .668 OPS for his career, never hitting more than 10 homers in any season.
One thing to like about Dubón, beyond the defense, is the versatility. He appeared in 133 games for the Astros this past season, logging 38 at second base, 28 at shortstop, 22 at third base, 21 in left field, 13 in center, and 3 in right. He can quite literally play all over the diamond, and for a team that has dealt with a litany of injuries over the last two years, that’s a very attractive trait.
However, if the Braves do go the Dubón route as their answer at shortstop — favoring defense, as they’ve done each of the last three seasons — adding another bat to replace Marcell Ozuna becomes something they can no longer overlook.
