Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Set to undergo thumb surgery
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Dubon will undergo surgery to repair a torn UCL in his left thumb, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Rome reveals that Dubon suffered the injury back on Sept. 6 but elected to delay surgery until the offseason. The rehab is expected to take 6-to-8 weeks, so the utility player should be ready to go for the start of spring training. Dubon is slated for salary arbitration for a third year this offseason after slashing .269/.296/.361 with four home runs and three stolen bases over 137 contests.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Long starting streak ends
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Dubon is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.
Dubon will head to the bench for the first time since Sept. 10, ending a stretch of 11 consecutive starts during which he batted .316 with six RBI. Though his ability to fill in at multiple spots in the infield and outfield has allowed Dubon to gain traction in the lineup lately, he'll likely be limited to a short-side platoon role heading into the final week of the regular season.
Dubon will start at second base and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Padres.
Dubon doesn't have a clear path to a spot at any one position, but his versatility and hot bat will allow him to stick in the lineup for an eighth consecutive game. He's produced an impressive .382/.400/.412 battling line over 14 games so far in September, though Dubon hasn't supplemented it with many counting stats (zero home runs, zero steals, five RBI and four runs).
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: In Wednesday's lineup
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Dubon (thumb) will start in left field and bat ninth in Wednesday's game versus the Athletics, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Dubon will be making his first start since he injured his left thumb in a game last Friday, though he did appear off the bench a couple times since then. Jake Meyers and Ben Gamel will join Dubon in the Houston outfield Wednesday.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Excluded from lineup Sunday
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Dubon (thumb) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Dubon remains day-to-day due to the jammed left thumb, which he sustained in Friday's 8-0 win in the series opener. According to MLB.com, manager Joe Espada said he hopes to avoid using Dubon off the bench Sunday, noting that consecutive days out of the lineup coupled with a team off day Monday should provide sufficient time for the utility player to heal up from the injury heading into Tuesday's series opener versus the Athletics. Though Dubon has taken on a near-everyday role since the beginning of August while moving between multiple positions, his playing time could become more inconsistent following the recent return of Kyle Tucker from the injured list.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Sitting Saturday
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Dubon (thumb) isn't in the Astros' lineup Saturday against the Diamondbacks, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Dubon was taken out of Friday's game early due to a jammed left thumb, and while the injury is considered minor, the Astros will hold him out of Saturday's contest just to be safe.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Suffers minor thumb injury
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Dubon jammed his left thumb in Friday's game against the Diamondbacks, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Dubon hurt his thumb sliding into first base late in the game and was removed after going 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. He had X-rays after the contest that came back clean, and he told reporters that he will be fine. Dubon may be unavailable Saturday, but a stint on the injured list seems unlikely.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Rejoining lineup Tuesday
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Dubon (shoulder) is starting in left field and batting ninth Tuesday against the Phillies, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Dubon sat out Monday's contest after he suffered a shoulder injury during Sunday's series finale versus Baltimore, but he's back in action after missing just one game. The 30-year-old hasn't found much success at the plate in August with a .175/.232/.222 slash line through 21 games.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Exiting lineup Monday
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Dubon is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Phillies after he collided with the outfield wall in the bottom of the seventh inning of Sunday's 6-3 win over the Orioles and sustained an apparent shoulder or rib injury, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
While playing left field Sunday, Dubon was in a full sprint while tracking down Ramon Urias' deep fly before his left side made full contact with the outfield wall, sending him tumbling to the ground. Dubon secured the catch on a backhanded grab for the final out of the inning, but he remained down on the field for a few moments until he was able to walk to the dugout under his own power. The Astros then lifted Dubon for a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth inning, with the 30-year-old admitting after the contest that he got the air knocked out of him in the collision and was feeling stiff from his neck down to his shoulder, per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. On a positive note, Dubon said follow-up tests revealed no major concern, so the Astros are seemingly viewing him as day-to-day. Dubon will see his streak of 12 consecutive starts come to an end Monday while he gets at least one game off to heal up.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Avoids major injury
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Dubon (undisclosed) was forced to exit Sunday's 6-3 win over the Orioles in eighth inning, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Dubon made an impressive running catch in left field, crashing into the wall for the final out of the bottom of the seventh inning. The 30-year-old was subsequently removed from the game, but manager Joe Espada said following the contest that Dubon escaped without suffering a serious injury. The Astros will begin a three-game series on the road against the Phillies on Monday, and Dubon can be considered day-to-day for the time being.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Delivers winning hit
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Dubon went 1-for-3 with a walk, one RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 2-1 extra-inning win over the Rays.
Dubon entered the contest just 2-for-27 over his first 10 games in August. His hit -- which was the Astros' second of the game -- plated the winning run in the 10th inning. For the season, Dubon is slashing .253/.282/.363 with four home runs, three steals, 35 RBI and 38 runs scored over 307 plate appearances. His versatility, along with Houston's lack of left-handed-hitting outfielders, has helped to keep Dubon in the lineup more often than not despite his recent slump.
Dubon is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.
Dubon will head back to the bench after he had picked up starts in three of the past four games. The Astros have a couple openings in their everyday lineup, but Dubon hasn't yet done enough to fully gain traction in a regular starting role. Since the All-Star break, Dubon is slashing just .122/.163/.268 while striking out at a 25 percent clip.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Idle Saturday
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Dubon isn't in the Astros' lineup for Saturday's game versus the Red Sox, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
After going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts during Friday's series opener, Dubon will take a seat Saturday while Yordan Alvarez, Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick start across the outfield.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Sitting Tuesday
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Dubon isn't in the Astros' lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rangers, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Dubon will get a chance to regroup Tuesday after going hitless in 11 at-bats across his last four games. Yordan Alvarez will fill the open spot in Houston's outfield, allowing Zach Dezenzo to serve as the designated hitter and bat seventh.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Regaining playing time
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Dubon will start in left field and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Rays.
Dubon will start for the fourth time in five contests and for the third game in a row. The 30-year-old is slashing just .125/.125/.333 since the All-Star break, so despite the recent uptick in playing time, he's far from secure as an everyday player.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Comes up clutch off bench
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Dubon hit a two-run home run as a pinch hitter in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Pirates.
Dubon hit for Jon Singleton in the sixth inning and took Pirates reliever Colin Holderman deep to give the Astros their first lead of the game. It proved to be the difference Wednesday. Dubon had a rough July in a part-time role, going 9-for-51 (.176) with four RBI and a 2:16 BB:K over 19 contests. The utility man is slashing .270/.294/.390 with four homers, 33 RBI, 36 runs scored, two stolen bases and 19 doubles over 274 plate appearances this year.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Losing out on regular playing time
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Dubon is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Pirates.
Dubon has now hit the bench for three consecutive matchups with right-handed pitchers, likely signaling that his time as a regular player in the Houston outfield is over. Barring any further additions to the outfield ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, the Astros will likely rely on a committee of Dubon, Chas McCormick, Trey Cabbage, Joey Loperfido and Yordan Alvarez to pick up starts at the two corner-outfield spots until Kyle Tucker (shin) returns from the injured list to fill one of those spots.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Sitting Sunday
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Dubon is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
Dubon will sit for the series finale after going 0-for-2 in Saturday's 7-6 win over Los Angeles. Yordan Alvarez, Jake Meyers and Joey Loperfido will start in the outfield Sunday.
