Astros Gold Glover Ready For Expanded Role This Year
There are not a whole lot of position battles for the Houston Astros this Spring Training outside of a bullpen competition.
Keeping their established stars on the roster and filling out other spots with role players who can do different things makes this exhibition period pretty tame for those with a solidified place.
They're ramping up their baseball activity as they get ready for Opening Day and the upcoming season, instead of worrying about if they'll make the roster.
After the breakout year that Mauricio Dubon had in 2023, where he won a Gold Glove award, he has firmly established himself as an important player for the Astros on and off the field.
He said this has helped him get ready for 2024.
"I don't have to worry about if I'm going to make the team or not. I get to work on the stuff that I need to work on to get ready for the year instead of trying to perform," Dubon told Alyson Footer of MLB.com.
The super utilityman is hoping to build off an impressive year where he put together the most prolific offensive performance of his career with a slash line of .278/.309/.411, 10 home runs and 46 RBI.
He also played multiple roles in the field, getting 79 games at second base, 38 across all three outfield spots, plus appearances at shortstop, first base, and third.
That's valuable for this team who has multiple veterans.
To survive the long season and be healthy for the playoffs, Houston will give more time off to different players throughout the year.
Dubon should be a major beneficiary of that.
But his expanded role won't only come on the field.
After being acquired at the trade deadline in 2022, the 29-year-old has become a clubhouse favorite.
"He walks in a room and the whole room just lights up, because of how funny he is, but also how much knowledge he has on so many topics. You could carry on a conversation with Dubon about anything and he's just a very likeable guy," manager Joe Espada told Footer.
Dubon will be a major factor for the Astros in 2024.
