The Braves may have finally landed on a shortstop answer, and it’s not the one most people would have guessed a few months ago.
Mauricio Dubon has started at shortstop five times over the past week, including Tuesday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and that run of usage points to a real shift in how Walt Weiss is handling the position. Atlanta has cycled through options for much of the season, but Dubon is now getting the kind of extended look that suggests the staff trusts him there.
That’s a notable turn from spring training, when Weiss was already talking up Dubon as a useful veteran who could help the club in a number of ways. The expectation then was versatility. The possibility now is something bigger: Dubon becoming the steady presence Atlanta has been missing at shortstop.
The Braves have not found much continuity at the position. Jorge Mateo got a chance.
Ha-Seong Kim did not give Atlanta the production it was hoping for. Rookie Jim Jarvis also entered the mix as the search continued.
None of them has been able to lock it down.
Dubon’s recent stretch doesn’t necessarily close the door on that competition, but five starts in seven days is more than a one-off lineup wrinkle. It looks like a manager settling in, not just experimenting.
And for Atlanta, that kind of stability matters. Dubon doesn’t need to turn into a major offensive force for this to work. If he handles the glove, makes the routine plays and gives enough at the plate, he can solve a problem that’s lingered all season.
It also simplifies Weiss’s daily lineup decisions. Instead of rotating through candidates at one of the field’s most important defensive spots, the Braves may finally have a way to bring some consistency to the middle infield.
Weiss saw Dubon as a useful piece in March. What he may have found is a much bigger answer than that.
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