Somebody stop Alex Anthopoulos. Just an hour or so after word broke that the Atlanta Braves had fended off a slew of contenders to re-sign closer Raisel Iglesias, Anthopoulos was at it again, this time swinging a trade with the Houston Astros for utility man extraordinaire Mauricio Dubon. In return, infielder Nick Allen is headed to Houston.
On the surface, this is a bit of an odd one, two ostensible contenders swapping bench bats. But dig a bit deeper, and it becomes clear that one of these teams is getting ultra-aggressive to try and win a World Series next season — while the other is mostly worried about the bottom line in ways that should have fans scratching their heads.
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MLB trade grades: Who won the bench swap between the Braves and Astros?
Dubon spent the last three-plus seasons in Houston, where he established himself as a valuable and versatile role player on an Astros team that won the World Series in 2022 and reached the ALCS in 2023. He's not going to do a ton of damage at the plate — he's got just 39 homers across seven big-league seasons — but he also won't completely kill you, with an 88 OPS+ over the last three years. His real value, though, lies in his defense: Dubon has played everywhere but catcher for Houston, and he's done it all extremely well, earning two Gold Glove Awards for his efforts. You don't want him starting for extended periods of time, but he can find ways to pitch in here and there while plugging holes just about anywhere on the field.
If you squint, Allen's profile is somewhat similar. He, too, is an elite defender, worth a whopping 17 Outs Above Average in 130 games at shortstop for the Braves this season. He can pick it as well as anyone in the league. The problem is that, while Dubon at least gives you something at the plate, Allen has been among the very worst hitters in the sport since breaking in with the A's in 2022 — his .213/.265/.272 slash line is good for a measly 55 OPS+. That's tough to stomach no matter the defense, and unlike Dubon, he has no experience in the outfield (or anywhere but short or second base, for that matter).
In terms of who will be the more valuable player in 2026, it would be almost impossible not to choose Dubon. Of course, Houston had something other than on-field value in mind with this deal.
Astros trade grade: C-
Braves trade grade: B+
Astros acquiring Nick Allen is all about the money
Even while saying goodbye to Framber Valdez, the Astros entered this offseason just $30 million or so below the first luxury-tax threshold. And after two straight years of crossing that threshold without a single postseason win to show for it, Jim Crane wasn't shy in telegraphing that some cost-cutting measures would be in store. That meant GM Dana Brown would need to find savings elsewhere if he had any hope of building a competitive roster (and restoring a depleted rotation) for next season.
Which brings us to Dubon, who was estimated to make some $6.8 million in his final year of arbitration next season. Allen, by contrast, is entering just his first arb year, with an estimated salary of $850,000. That's $6 million that Brown can now use elsewhere.
Dubon was a useful player in Houston, but the reality is that it's easier to backfill his role on the cheap than it would be to find a starting pitcher on the open market. The Astros probably would have just non-tendered Dubon by Friday's deadline if they couldn't find a trade partner for him. Instead, they hope they've found his replacement for pennies on the dollar. More likely, though, they just downgraded for the sake of saving money.
Mauricio Dubon is a perfect piece of the Braves' offseason puzzle
The Braves, meanwhile, sure seem to be all system go this winter. After some belt-tightening of his own last offseason, Alex Anthopoulos has plenty of money to work with, and he's quickly set about making sure that the disappointment of 2025 doesn't happen again.
Granted, re-signing a closer and upgrading your bench will not in and of themselves guarantee success next season. But the Braves' lack of position-player depth — and particularly infield depth — came back to bite them in a big way this year. Dubon is at the very least a floor raiser, someone who can fill in literally anywhere on the diamond for a week or three while running the bases well, playing great defense and occasionally delivering a big hit. That's a failsafe Atlanta simply did not have in 2025.
This shouldn't have much of any effect on the team's search for a new starting shortstop. If anything, Dubon would be the perfect compliment to someone like, say, Bo Bichette. This doesn't win the offseason all by itself, but it's an excellent way to simply keep accruing value, with hope that the bigger swings are still to come.