Gold Glover Dubón 'looks the part' as Braves' shortstop during Kim's absence

NORTH PORT, Fla. – Mauricio Dubón could have played for Nicaragua in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. But instead of representing a neighboring nation, the Braves shortstop stayed true to the incredible pride he has in knowing he is the only player in Major League history who was born and raised in Honduras.

“It took me forever to get Honduras on the map and I wasn’t going to jeopardize it,” Dubón said. “I wanted to play. I’d have loved to have played. Dusty [Baker] is [Nicaragua’s] manager. So he asked me to play. But with my pride in Honduras, I just couldn’t.”

A great sense of pride will also be felt among Honduras natives when Dubón serves as Atlanta’s starting shortstop while Ha-Seong Kim misses at least the season’s first five weeks while recovering from surgery on his right middle finger. The baseball community of the Central American nation will also continue keenly watching the Braves when their beloved son is given a chance to show why he’s one of the game’s top utility men.

Dubón won his second American League Gold Glove Award as a utility player just before the Braves acquired him from the Astros in exchange for Nick Allen in November.

“He’s a winning-type player,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “So that's the reputation he comes in with. Reputations are usually earned in this league. Watching him run around at short, he certainly looks the part.”

How does somebody from soccer-crazed Honduras become not only the nation’s first big leaguer, but also a two-time Gold Glove Award winner and a member of Houston’s 2022 World Series championship team?

“I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder,” Dubón said. “Every year, I’ve wanted to prove to people what I can do. People are always going to second guess. In the beginning, they’re doubters, and then it’s, ‘You know, the guy can play.’ I’m excited to show everybody that I can play.”

Another reporter followed with, “So you like proving people wrong?” Dubón replied, “I love that and rubbing it in their faces too. So it’s going to be fun.”

Dubón has been proving folks wrong going all the way back to his teenage years. When a high school coach from a Christian mission group saw the young athlete prove he was more than just a good soccer player, he convinced the then-15-year-old infielder to come to Sacramento to attend school and play baseball.

How would you compare the baseball experience in Honduras to that of high school baseball in California?

“The competition was better [in California] for sure,” Dubón said. “But there were rules like you can’t take out the catcher and you can’t take out [the middle infielder] on a double play. So I got tossed a couple times.”

Dubón’s hard-nosed style and dedication led to him being taken by the Red Sox in the 26th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut for the Brewers six years later and spent a few years as a role player with the Giants before finally drawing regular playing time for the Astros in '23.

Defense might be Dubón’s calling card, but he’s capable of providing some offensive value. He hit 10 homers and had a .720 OPS when he compiled 492 plate appearances for the Astros in 2023. He produced a .651 OPS over the past two seasons, not drawing more than 428 plate appearances in either.

But the primary concern for many Braves fans likely centers around his ability to be a dependable shortstop while Kim is on the injured list. These metrics should ease those concerns.

Dubón tied for the seventh-highest Fielding Run Value (6) among all MLB shortstops in 2025. Why is seventh-best impressive? Well, this is a cumulative stat and he played just 206 1/3 innings as a shortstop. That’s 855 1/3 fewer innings than Jeremy Peña, the Astros' starting shortstop, whose FRV was also 6.

Too small of a sample size? Well, Dubón is tied for the 15th-highest FRV (11) among all shortstops going back to 2021, despite 55 players logging more innings at the position than him during this span.

“I like having fun,” Dubón said. “It’s a beautiful game, and I like going out there and playing hard every day.”

Asked about his early baseball fandom, Dubón said the power of TBS made him and his brothers Braves fans. He has great memories of being a nine-year-old who regularly watched a 2003 Atlanta lineup that featured Rafael Furcal, Marcus Giles, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Gary Sheffield.

This year, a young baseball player in Honduras may develop fond memories of a Braves lineup that includes Ronald Acuña Jr., Austin Riley, Matt Olson and Dubón.