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 shortstop 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.
“[Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos] is a pleasure to work for,” Weiss said. “He gives me the freedom to do things that I feel like I need to do. Sometimes these decisions aren't easy. When you’ve got a guy like Kim, who's been a really good player in this league, and he's trying to find his way, you try to walk that fine line of trying to get him back up to speed and at the same time you're trying to win games.”
Nobody has won more games than the Braves and much of their success can be attributed to the leadership Weiss has provided in his first year as Atlanta’s skipper. Whether letting Dominic Smith bat against a left-handed reliever or skillfully utilizing Dubón around the diamond, he has regularly made sound decisions.
“Walt has had a big, big part of this because he gives me the confidence to go out there and play,” Dubón said.
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. Despite struggling in May, he has batted .259 with a .733 OPS through 238 at-bats.
Not bad for a guy who has skillfully performed as an underdog since being taken by the Red Sox in the 26th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. The chip on his shoulder may have grown in November, when the Astros didn’t want to pay him the approximate $6 million he was expected to receive via arbitration. Instead of non-tendering him, they traded him to the Braves for Nick Allen.
“He's a pleasure to be around,” Weiss said. “He's a really good player. I think the Atlanta fans are seeing what this guy really is. Maybe, he hasn't had some of the opportunities along the way, prior in his career. But you put this guy out there and he helps you win games.”
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.
“It's easy for me to write Dubón’s name in the lineup, with what he’s doing and what he’s been doing all year for us,” Weiss said. “He seems to be in the middle of a lot of really good things this year.”