{"id":684685,"date":"2026-04-28T04:03:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T04:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/684685\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T04:03:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T04:03:20","slug":"braves-facing-mauricio-dubon-decision-after-ha-seong-kim-injury-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/684685\/","title":{"rendered":"Braves Facing Mauricio Dubon Decision After Ha-Seong Kim Injury Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Braves<\/a> received good news on the injury front Monday, with shortstop Ha-Seong Kim<\/a> set to begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Columbus this week. The development raises a question: what does Kim\u2019s return mean for Mauricio Dubon<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Kim has been sidelined since January after suffering a bizarre injury, slipping on ice in South Korea, and tearing a tendon in his right middle finger. The injury required surgery and carried an initial four-to-five month recovery, which would have pushed his debut to June, eliminating spring training and months into the season. He has progressed ahead of schedule and will be joining the Columbus Clingstones at home as they take on the Montgomery Biscuits beginning Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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The accelerated timeline is welcome news for the Braves, who made Kim a priority this offseason, signing him to a one-year, $20 million deal after claiming him off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays<\/a> in September last year. Atlanta brought him back to stabilize shortstop, a position that had been a weak spot in recent years. In an injury-limited 2025 campaign split between Tampa Bay<\/a> and Atlanta, he batted .234 with five home runs, 17 RBI and a .649 OPS across 48 games.<\/p>\n

In Kim\u2019s absence, Dubon has done more than hold the fort. Through 27 games, the veteran utility man is slashing .283\/.330\/.434 with a .765 OPS. The Braves acquired him from the Houston Astros<\/a> before Kim re-signed, expecting him to serve as depth. Instead, he has been one of their steadier contributors.<\/p>\n

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That kind of production creates a genuine roster question, but Dubon\u2019s versatility is what keeps it from becoming a problem. The Braves will slide Kim back at shortstop, with Dubon posing as the odd man out. However, Dubon\u2019s ability to move around the field and take on a new position could potentially allow the Braves to allow Kim and Dubon in the lineup once the 30-year-old from South Korea returns to the Braves.<\/p>\n

\"Atlanta<\/p>\n

Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss (22)\u00a9 Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Dubon, a two-time AL Gold Glove winner as a utility player in 2023 and 2025, can handle every position on the diamond besides catcher, giving manager Walt Weiss plenty of options without displacing Kim.<\/p>\n

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The Braves enter the week with the best record in baseball at 20-9, and getting Kim back healthy only adds to an already promising outlook. For now, Dubon\u2019s role at short isn\u2019t going anywhere, but Weiss will have to start thinking ahead before the Kim\u2019s return makes things complex.<\/p>\n

Related: Red Sox Remove Trevor Story From Lineup After Alex Cora Message<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Apr 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Braves received good news on the injury front Monday, with shortstop Ha-Seong Kim set to begin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2394],"tags":[191,46,4166,5,192,28309,633,54,3617,4,4580,2550,68,35610],"class_list":{"0":"post-684685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-braves","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-braves","10":"tag-atlantabraves","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-braves","13":"tag-columbus-clingstones","14":"tag-ha-seong-kim","15":"tag-houston-astros","16":"tag-mauricio-dubon","17":"tag-mlb","18":"tag-rehab-assignment","19":"tag-tampa-bay","20":"tag-tampa-bay-rays","21":"tag-walt-weiss"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116480351528565960","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}