ATLANTA -- Mauricio Dubón continues to reward Braves manager Walt Weiss’ commitment to prioritizing production over financial commitment when he constructs his lineup on a daily basis.
Instead of continuing to play Ha-Seong Kim on a daily basis, Weiss has sat the $20 million infielder for six of the past eight games. He has filled the position with either Jorge Mateo or Dubón, who homered in a third straight game for the first time while helping the Braves claim a 6-3 win over the Pirates on Friday night at Truist Park.
Dubón hit a game-tying, two-run home run in the third inning and further strengthened his clutch stats with an RBI double during the decisive three-run fifth. These contributions extend a successful week, which included a game-winning homer on Wednesday. His home run in Thursday’s loss gave him the third two-game homer streak of his career.
The Braves veteran has homered six times, four shy of his career-best total (10 in 2023) and he has hit .358 (19-for-53) with a 1.037 OPS with runners in scoring position.
But his greatest value may still come via his glove. Whether playing shortstop, center field, left field or third base, he has shown why he was the American League’s Gold Glove utility man in both 2023 and 2025. This defensive versatility has helped Weiss optimize his lineups in a variety of ways.
When the Braves acquired Dubón from the Astros in November, he was positioned to be Atlanta’s starting shortstop until Kim signed a one-year, $20 million deal in January. Kim tore ligaments in his right middle finger a couple weeks later and was on the injured list through the first two weeks of May.
Kim has batted .102 (5-for-49) with a .287 OPS in the 14 games he has played dating back to his season debut on May 12. He was in the lineup for 12 of the first 15 games played immediately after he was activated. But he has been on the bench for six of the past eight games.
When the Braves face a left-handed starting pitcher, Dubón has usually played left field in place of Mike Yastrzemski. This created some opportunities for Mateo, who homered twice (once while playing shortstop and once while serving as the designated hitter) during this past weekend’s series in Cincinnati.