HOUSTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 21: Mauricio Dubon #14 of the Houston Astros throws to first for an out in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park on September 21, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) Getty Images
No doubt Astros fans were taken by surprise when the news came down Wednesday night that Mauricio Dubon has been traded to the Atlanta Braves for IF Nick Allen. Dubon had become a fan favorite for his ability to play 7 positions, as well his gritty style of all out hustle.
Dubon, however, appears to have been caught in that “no man’s land” between a potentially diminished role and a higher than market arbitration estimate. Dubon, going into his fourth and final year of arbitration, had an arbitration estimate of $6.8M per Spotrac.com
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/24579/mauricio-dubon
While Nick Allen, entering his first year of arbitration, is likely looking at something in the neighborhood of $5M less than Dubon’s number, he also would be looking at something far less than Dubon’s role in recent years as well.
Dubon has been the ultimate “Super Utility” guy, playing 7 positions in 2025, including 48 in LF and 46 at 2B. Those were his two most often played positions. However, Dubon’s 133 games and 398 PA are far more than the Astros hope to be needing from a light hitting player wielding a .644 OPS.
The Astros have not made it a secret that in addition the pitching they so desperately need, they are also looking for a left handed bat. Ideally that left handed bat will be a bat that hits for a solid average, draws walks, works counts, and doesn’t strike out a lot – all things that have haunted the Astros lineups for the last couple of seasons. It is why the Astros have been linked to St. Louis Cardinals’ 2B/LF Brendan Donovan.
Donovan is a LH hitter coming off his first All Star season, and is also a former Gold Glove winner. He hit .287 last season with a .353 OBP and a .775 OPS, all of which are in line with his career numbers of .282 AVG, .361 OBP, .772 OPS over his 4-year career. This is important as the Astros aren’t potentially chasing someone coming off of a “career year” that likely won’t approach those numbers again.
Donovan fits the profile of the the kind of offensive player the Astros want to get back in the lineup, someone who makes contact, gets hits, draws walks, works counts, and limits strikeouts (42BB, 67K in 515 PA). He also is not the defensive player Mauricio Dubon is, but he isn’t a liability defensively. He is a better infielder than outfielder, though its possible he gets most of his reps in LF.
Why is that possible? Despite being a career worst -9 Outs Above Average for the Astros at 2B in 2024, Altuve posted a respectable 0 OAA in 2025. Zero equates to league average. He was a -5 OAA in LF in only 73 attempts while posting a horrific -7% success added rate, demonstrating that the LF experiment with Jose Altuve was an abject failure and the team is better off living with his defensive shortcomings at 2B than in LF.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jose-altuve-514888?stats=statcast-r-fielding-mlb
The Astros are also looking to play Yordan Alvarez in LF more this season, particularly in the cozy confines of Daikin Park. This would create lineup scenarios of Donovan in LF, Altuve at 2B and Yordan at DH, and Yordan in LF, Donovan at 2B, and Altuve at DH.
If the Astros make the move for Donovan, his frequent presence in the lineup would have greatly curtailed Dubon’s playing time, and close to $7M for a more traditional bench role that Dubon would have been relegated to is an overallocation of funds to that role.
With the Astros also potentially having some younger players making the team in the OF like Zach Cole and Jacob Melton in addition to Cam Smith, Dubon’s role for this season would have been greatly reduced.
Fans are assuredly sad to see Dubon go, and I feel pretty strongly that Mauricio Dubon will never pay for a meal or a drink in the City of Houston, the financial gains of the deal are apparent.
GM Dana Brown had previously stated the need to be creative in addressing roster needs this season. The moves to shed the salaries of Ramon Urias, Chas McCormick, Luis Garcia, and now Mauricio Dubon have generated extra financial flexibility for the team under the first tax line. Now it’s up to Brown to reallocate those funds for the best interest of the team.
In the meantime, pour one out for Dubie.