Astros’ perfect Mauricio Dubón replacement could be right under their nose

Is it time to move on from Mauricio?

Eric Cole

Texas Rangers v Houston Astros / Houston Astros/GettyImages

Though he's certainly rebounded after a brutal month of June, it could be time for the Houston Astros and utility man Mauricio Dubón to part ways. Even if you ignore the fact that Dubón's offensive contributions don't move the needle much, he's also a free agent after the 2026 season, and there's certainly going to be a firm limit on how much the Astros will invest in order to keep him around. So why not just replace him altogether?

Finding a player like Dubón (or better) is tricky. Finding a player that can play a multiple positions and also hit isn't terribly difficult, finding one who can play almost anywhere on the field, while offering value with the glove, and hit is nearly impossible. That's precisely why, in addition to his excellent clubhouse presence, the Astros have held on to Dubón so fiercely.

It appears, however, that the Astros may have found a player that could not only play all over the diamond, but also has upside at the plate.

Could Zack Short be the Mauricio Dubon replacement the Astros may need?

Zack Short seems like an ideal candidate to replace Dubón. Short has experience at multiple positions in the infield, in addition to both center and right field. On top of that, Short is hitting well through his first 10 games with the Astros after being called up. He's posted a .286/.348/.524 slash line through 23 plate appearances since July 2. He's even shown a flair for the dramatic with a walk-off hit against the Texas Rangers last week.

But this isn't Short's first crack at the big leagues, and at 30 years old, his brief run of success with Houston has to be weighed against his four previous seasons (if limited) of mediocre production at the plate.

It's true that Short has experience all over the field, but most of it has come in the infield and he's only shown true aptitude at second base. Houston is only playing him at shortstop right now because of Jeremy Peña's rib injury.

Could Short fill the same role as Dubón? It's possible, and perhaps even likely, if he continues to play well. The team, however, may find that replacing a unicorn-type player like Dubón with someone similar is easier said than done.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.