Houston’s latest trade sparks debate as the Astros ship Mauricio Dubón to Atlanta, raising the question of what a Gold Glove is really worth. DD
The Houston Astros dealt away one of their core infield players as they try trim a bit of payroll for 2026.
The Houston Astros have much work to do this offseason to turn things around after missing the postseason in 2025, and some tough calls are going to have to be made to get there. Houston made one on Wednesday night.
The Astros announced that they traded away two-time Gold Glove winner Mauricio Dubón to the Atlanta Braves for utility infielder Nick Allen. The move has come clear cost benefits for the Astros.
Dubón was expected to get close to $6 million in salary arbitration per MLB Trade Rumors and he is in his final year of team control. He will be a free agent after the 2026 season and it gives the Astros a chance to get something in return. Allen is a super two player in arbitration and is only expected to get $1.5 million. This should allow Houston to trim more than $4 million from expected payroll for 2026.
Mauricio Dubon’s Astros Career
Dubón was with the Astros for three seasons and played 485 games for them across six different positions in the field, as well as designated hitter. His value to this team has come from his ability to be an absolute dominant force in the field and reliable enough on offense to make him worth playing daily. His ability to play multiple positions made him a candidate for the utility Gold Glove in the American League.
The two-time Gold Glove Award winner has only had 39 errors in his entire seven-year career, or around five and a half a season, which, for a player who has played reps pretty much everywhere, is truly outstanding.
The Astros made moves at the 40-man roster deadline on Tuesday, including moving pitcher Miguel Ullola to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The next major deadline is Friday, as that is the non-tender deadline for salary arbitration players. With a roster full of arbitration eligible players, Houston could look to trade more pieces away before that deadline to get out of the arbitration payment.
While plenty of roster moves having already been made to clear up some space on the 40-man, there is still room to improve as they look towards either retaining key pieces or trading some away if they feel they can get back reasonable value. The value in Allen is that he is cheaper than Dubon and has four more years of team control.
