Braves acquire Gold Glover Dubón from Astros for infielder Allen

ATLANTA -- Mauricio Dubón has won a pair of Gold Gloves while serving as one of baseball’s best utility players over the past few years. Will he now become the Braves’ primary shortstop?

Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos wasn’t ready to commit to a specific role after acquiring Dubón from the Astros in exchange for infielder Nick Allen on Wednesday night. But Anthopoulos didn’t rule out the possibility that the 31-year-old infielder will be Atlanta’s shortstop at the start of the 2026 season.

“His role will be determined by what else we do this winter and even in Spring Training,” Anthopoulos said. “I told him the same thing. I have no idea what the roster is going to look like come Spring Training. But knowing he has the flexibility and athleticism to play every position, it just gives us so many options this winter.”

How good is Dubón defensively? He tied for MLB’s sixth-highest fielding run value (+17) despite making just 104 starts on defense in 2025. He also had a FRV of +6 at shortstop, despite making just 33 appearances at the position.

Anthopoulos will continue to monitor the markets for free agent Ha-Seong Kim and other available shortstops. But with Dubón, he has somebody who can serve as his team’s everyday shortstop if other options prove to be too expensive in terms of money or prospect capital.

“Our underlying data on him at shortstop is good and strong,” Anthopoulos said. “But I think he's good at second, good at third and good at the corner [outfield spots]. He can play center field. We like the contact and the speed, as well. So it’s just a good piece.”

Dubón won the American League Gold Glove Award for utility players in 2023 and 2025.

The Astros’ desire to move Dubón was financially motivated. He made $5 million this year, his second-to-last season of eligibility for salary arbitration. Allen will enter his first arb-eligible season.

Allen was named a Gold Glove Award finalist after serving as Atlanta’s primary shortstop for the first five months of this past season. His offensive shortcomings (.535 OPS) were certainly problematic. His defensive value was also limited to the infield spots.

With Dubón, the Braves gained greater defensive versatility and a better bat. The Honduras native posted a .677 OPS over the past three seasons with the Astros. But he has a .746 OPS in 358 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers since the start of 2023.

“To me, it’s a winning player and it’s a really nice piece to have on a contending club,” Anthopoulos said.

If Dubón isn’t the primary shortstop, his presence will allow manager Walt Weiss to give several starters regular rest. Dubón played every position other than pitcher and catcher in 2025, and he made at least 17 appearances at every other position, other than right field (three games) and first base (four games).

“Every team needs a backup center fielder,” Anthopoulos said. “Every team needs a starting shortstop or a backup shortstop. Those are just harder positions to find. So when one player can fill both, that has value.”