The Houston Astros have gone through many defensive problems at some of the key positions over the last two seasons. Jose Altuve’s defensive decline has been the worst, recording -20 Fielding Run Value over the last three seasons between second base, where he accumulated 2,823 innings, and left field, where he played 371 innings during the first half of the 2025 season, in an experiment that did not work out.

But catcher Yainer Diaz also appears on the list of defensive problems, with -12 FRV and -9 Catching Runs, in addition to -11 Framing over 2,566 innings played, numbers that place him among the worst in the game in that last metric.

Isaac Paredes (-3 FRV), Jeremy Peña (-2 FRV) and Nick Allen (-1 FRV) are other players who have had negative results during that span. In Paredes’ case, perhaps it is not that surprising, since in 2026 his defense was on par with the league average. However, in the cases of Peña and Allen, it is concerning. For Peña, the reason is obvious: he plays as the starting shortstop, a key infield position, and a progressive regression would not be the most appropriate thing for Houston’s defensive stability.

Then, it is absolutely unacceptable that Allen, who is on the roster to provide defense, has fallen below the average player, with some problems with his range.

An Option That Would Fit Perfectly in Houston

The other issue we have analyzed here time and time again has been the inconsistency of the left fielders, which has not been a minor problem compared with everything mentioned above. And this is where I believe the Astros should analyze an alternative that could offer them some interesting solutions: bringing Mauricio Dubon back.

I still do not understand how Houston allowed itself the luxury of letting him go, when for years he has been an extremely complete player. He showed it in the past with the Astros, winning two Gold Gloves, in 2023 and 2025, and also during his time with the Atlanta Braves, becoming a key utility player.

During his time with Houston, Dubon was the only left fielder who recorded a positive Fielding Run Value, accumulating +2 in his last two seasons with the team (2024 and 2025), and he stood out for his range over the 580 innings he covered.

His offense really dropped a little when he played as a left fielder, producing a 72 wRC+, but he maintained a stable BABIP (.283) and recorded 0.6 Def, the best defensive contribution, tied with Chas McCormick.

However, what makes a big difference here is Dubon’s versatility, as he has proven capable of playing efficiently at least seven positions. His best year defensively was in 2025, when he recorded 17 FRV with the Astros and made appearances at first base (13 innings), second base (318), third base (141), shortstop (206), left field (175), center field (89) and right field (18).

In 2026, Dubon finished with 4 FRV, playing most of the time as a shortstop (457 innings) and left fielder (663). In the postseason, he made brilliant plays, but he also committed a costly error at shortstop, dropping a fly ball by Max Muncy that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1-1 tie in the top of the second inning of Game 4 of the NLDS. Atlanta subsequently lost the game 4-1 and was eliminated from the playoffs.

Of course, Dubon’s error was only one of the bad moments the Braves went through, but in the end they could not produce offensively and finished by scoring only two runs in their last two games against the Dodgers.

Now, the question is whether Atlanta will keep Dubon in its plans, as he will be a free agent at the end of the season.

A blooper... Uff. This time Mauricio Dubon missed it.

Terrible error.

If you give the #Dodgers something, they take it. The game has just been tied, 1-1. pic.twitter.com/4EE3wurSH3

— Yirsandy Rodríguez (@Yirsandy) October 7, 2026

If so, I believe the Astros should take advantage of the opportunity to seriously consider bringing Dubon back, as he could offer many solutions with his defensive ability and a contact bat that still punishes fastballs. Over the last two seasons, he has averaged a .262/.308/.382 slash line, with 49 doubles, three doubles, 19 home runs, 106 RBIs and 109 runs scored.