Former SF Giants utility man's potential is finally being realized with Braves

The SF Giants were once high on utility man Mauricio Dubón but they decided to move on from him back in 2022. He’s now realizing his full potential with the Atlanta Braves this season.

Entering play on Sunday Dubón is hitting .259/.316/.403 with six home runs and 37 runs batted in. Those numbers don’t fly off the page but he could be on track for one of the better offensive years of his career.

The difference may be the fact that the Braves are trusting him more in late-inning situations. Whereas in the past he was usually a guy either the Giants or Houston Astros would pinch hit for late in a game, this season Atlanta is letting him swing the bat late in games and it’s paid off.

He’s hitting nearly .400 late in games this year so when a guy is doing that, his manager is not going to be pulling him for someone else with the game on the line.

This isn’t necessarily evidence that Dubón should have gotten longer runway to develop when he was in San Francisco. He obviously had a lot of athleticism and showed promise at the plate but he just made too many baserunning blunders and wasn’t strong enough at the plate to warrant regular playing time. Other infield options also emerged during his time with the team like Donovan Solano and Thairo Estrada.

Dubón's glove has never been in question

He has shown how good of a fielder he is since leaving the Giants, though. He’s got two Gold Glove Awards as a utility player which is impressive because it does show that he can play above average defense no matter where he is on the diamond.

For instance, this season he has played 34 games at shortstop, 28 games in left field, 11 games in center field, and 3 games at third base. That kind of versatility is so valuable for teams and the fact that the offense is starting to come around just makes him even more valuable.

Thankfully, the Giants basically have a guy like that as well in Casey Schmitt. The Giants have deployed him all over the diamond this season and he’s had his best season as a hitter so he has become the team’s de facto utility man.

The Braves have a lot of former Giants on their roster so it’s nice to see guys like Dubón and Dominic Smith thriving in their current situation. The Giants will see Dubón and their old friends soon as they travel to take on the Braves on Tuesday.

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