The Astros and Braves announced a one-for-one swap of middle infielders. Utility player Mauricio Dubón is headed to Atlanta with defensive specialist Nick Allen on his way to Houston.
Atlanta takes on a few million dollars to upgrade their infield. Dubón, 31, spent nearly four seasons in Houston. The Astros acquired him from the Giants in a minor trade early in 2022. It was a nice pickup, as he developed into a versatile and generally reliable piece off the bench. Dubón won two utility Gold Glove awards while playing all three infield positions to the left of first base and a decent amount of center and left field.
The righty-swinging Dubón was a league average hitter a couple seasons ago, batting .278/.309/.411 with 10 homers in nearly 500 trips to the dish. His offense has declined in each of the past two years. He’s coming off a .241/.289/.355 showing with seven longballs through 398 plate appearances and carries a .256/.293/.358 line over the past two seasons. He’s very difficult to strike out but rarely walks and has well below-average power.
Still, that light bat is a significant upgrade over what Allen brings to the table offensively. The 27-year-old Allen didn’t hit a single home run in 416 trips to the dish this year. He turned in a .211/.284/.251 line that made him easily the worst hitter to take 400+ plate appearances. Allen ranked in the bottom 20 hitters in on-base percentage, while his slugging mark was more than .040 points lower than the second-lowest in MLB (.296 by Victor Scott II). He owns a .213/.265/.272 slash in nearly 1200 plate appearances over parts of four seasons.
Allen has continued to get playing time because of his superlative glove. He has been touted as an excellent infielder dating back to his high school days. Allen has posted fantastic defensive marks in every season of his career. Defensive Runs Saved graded him as the third-best shortstop in MLB this year behind Mookie Betts and Zach Neto. Statcast’s Outs Above Average also had him third, albeit behind Bobby Witt Jr. and Masyn Winn.
Dubón is unlikely to be that caliber of defender if he were pressed into everyday shortstop work. Statcast has graded him as a plus defender in his 721 career innings at the position though. Defensive Runs Saved has him right around league average. Dubón should be capable of playing there every day, and he’s not a complete zero offensively. That’s particularly true in favorable platoon matchups, as he’s a .288/.329/.417 hitter versus left-handed pitching over the past three years.
The Braves couldn’t afford to enter next season with Allen atop the shortstop depth chart. Dubón would be a low-end regular but provides a higher floor. This shouldn’t detract from Atlanta’s interest in re-signing Ha-Seong Kim. Dubón has the versatility to provide cover behind Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley at second and third base while complementing lefty-hitting Michael Harris II in center field. Still, he’s at least a reasonable one-year fallback if Kim signs elsewhere in a market devoid of shortstop alternatives in free agency or trade.
Dubón is entering his final season of arbitration eligibility. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $5.8MM salary. Allen is eligible for arbitration for the first time as a Super Two player and under control for four years. He’s projected at $1.5MM. Houston cuts a little more than $4MM from the books while downgrading in the utility role.
Allen isn’t going to play shortstop barring an injury to Jeremy Peña, but he can offer a glove-only option at second base. Jose Altuve is the primary starter there for now, but the Astros hope to continue splitting his playing time between the keystone, left field, and designated hitter. They’ve been tied to Brendan Donovan in trade conversations and could consider other possibilities (e.g. a Brandon Lowe trade, Jorge Polanco in free agency) if the Cardinals deal Donovan elsewhere. They’ll ideally add a left-handed bat to balance a righty-heavy lineup. Allen is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to be on the active roster or designated for assignment.
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported that Dubón had been traded to the Braves just before the announcements. Respective images courtesy of Jerome Miron and Brett Davis, Imagn Images.
1yr of Dubon for 4yrs of Allen! Braves upgraded their offense for ’26.
He’s not that much of an offensive upgrade but he does have more defensive flexibility than Allen. Both were nontender candidates.
This transaction just screams “help us Ha-Seong Kim, you’re our only hope”
They’re not going to trot Dubon out to SS on an everyday basis, right?
I think that’s there plan if they don’t get Ha Seong Kim
Gwynning
Exactly my though Dubon is a much better utility than Allen if Kim is the starting shortstop.
For an extra ~4M$. If I were the Braves I’d probably still nontender Dubon if he doesn’t agree to a lesser than projected figure.
And why would he agree to that? I could see if it was with Houston and he was comfortable there, but Atlanta is a brand new situation. Would be better getting non-tendered and then CHOOSING your brand new situation.
Why do players agree to less than they’re projected to make? So that they are guaranteed a sum of money. The same reason our Espinal agreed early last year.
He just won a Gold Glove and plays virtually every position. He would be signed somewhere. He is not in the “sign a minor league deal and hope for a good Spring Training” phase of his career just yet.
Of course he’ll sign somewhere, he won’t necessarily get ~6M$ though. I certainly didn’t say anything about a “minor league deal”. He’s a good defender with a career .295 OBP.
There’s a reason why he was listed on the possible nontender page for HOU. Hell, I could see HOU & ATL still nontendering both these players tomorrow.
The only way Atlanta non-tenders Dubon is if they sign a healthy elite shortstop. More likely they sign Kim who is very good and keep Dion as the utility.
Maybe they non-tender him and he resigns with the Astros.
He was tendered above the prediction
Dubón is a slugger compared to Allen.
True, but Dobon is still a career .280 OBP vs. righties. He shouldn’t play more than a third of a season in a starting role, the rest as a late inning defender.
Allen is probably a non-tender after the trade. Pure salary dump for Astros.
It is not a salary dump because the Astros had no money tied up in Dubon. They could have non tendered him and been out exactly zero dollars. Salary dumps are when players are under guaranteed contracts and sent away for little to no return. That is never the case for anyone under 6 years of service time unless they have signed an extension.
It’s pretty sad that Dubon is an upgrade offensively to anyone. Astros fans soured on Dubon cause of his offense(silly). Wait til we have to watch Nick Allen.
Imagine both Maurico Dubon or Nick Allen wins a silver slugger. It’ll be so funny.
Am I missing something? Is the money an issue?
Seems like a steal by ATL
sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/kDCiA
I’m guessing Houston’s scouts see something and can utilize Allen’s defense for a much longer duration than whatever they would get out of Dubon in ’26? Does Peña move to 2nd??
Pena can play 3rd or second. I saw rumors of Dubon to the Braves. I happy it’s done. The Astros believe they can fix Nick Allen (or at least Anthony Iapoce and Victor Rodriguez think so)
No. Lol. Nick Allen is not starting. This doesn’t move anybody.
I know. But I’m wondering about Brice Matthews. Is he going to be traded in corrsponding?
I’m still curious… haha! 🍻
Doesn’t have anything to do with Matthews. Allen is here to be the utility man, and to be cheaper than Dubon.
Nick Allen is a superstar defensively & is one of the worst hitters in the game. Every team wants a guy like that on the bench. It’s a high floor when you can be the worst hitting regular in the entire league & still have value.
Good trade for both teams.
5.8MM. Is that an issue to Atlanta. I posted multiple comments regarding how Allen could be fixed. Try reading them. Astros don’t have payroll space for 5.8MM.
MLBTR we need to get ASTROS27! In touch with Nick Allen’s camp. He said he can fix him within a few comments
I don’t know how the Astros will fix him. I’m saying it’s likely one of the reasons that they traded for him.
I can fix Nick Allen. “Hey Nick…hit better.”
There.
Bang the trash can, whistle whistle and give em Altuves’ buzzer. Bing bang boop, HES FIXED!
Ha. But no. I was thinking maybe the Houston scouts saw something. Like change his mechanics and work more in the gym. Trash can? Possibly? Buzzer? More likely.
Unsurprising Dubon had the better year, but I’m honestly surprised Nick Allen played in more games, had more PAs, and OBP is as close as it is. Without looking, I would’ve figured 100 games, 250-350 PAs max.
He was pressed into basically everyday play at SS because the Braves really had no one else for most of the year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
2 more games.
I went to an Astros site. This is what they said about the trade.
why not just release Dubon if this is what you rec’d in trade? How about using Dubon’s value for a pitcher??? DB should try to get Moniak from Colorado. He’s left hander with power & good fielding. Trading Meyers would have been a better deal. So far, DB is terrible or is it Crane pulling the strings?
Between Urias and Dubon, looks to be purely an 11 million salary dump. That’s getting close to Verlander territory. Allen is nothing beyond a late inning defensive option. Maybe Donovan really is a possibility. Hopefully this deal will make a bit more sense soon. In the meantime, plenty of pissed off Dubon fans. I won’t miss his bat though.
Absolutely ridiculous ! To get rid of our club house leader and such a beloved fan favorite
for a player of less caliber is not going to go over very well.
As much as I like Dubon, this definitely comes down to arbitration years and what Dana believes they can achieve with Nick Allen defensively. Offensively, we’ll have to wait and see, bec as of now the offense is worse with this trade.
Thoughts are: there’s not a pitcher in the deal? Does someone back in Atlanta have compromising pictures of Dana?
Terrible trade. Dubon is a much better player than Allen.
If we had to trade the best utility player in all of MLB, surely we could have got a reliever rather than another infielder.
You’re not going to get a big league pitcher for one season of Dubón. I think this is more about freeing up money to make a splash this offseason.
Let’s just say they hate it.
Dubon has played for Milwaukee according to ESPN. Not sure many of us knew that. Maybe ask them for their original data?
yes, Dubon is a better hitter than Allen, but that is relative.. In an absolute sense, you really don’t want to trot Dubon’s 78 OPS+ out for 400 PAs. But I really don’t get what the Astros will do with Allen. The only way he plays is as a regular at SS, you don’t want to move him down the defensive scale by playing him at 2B and you don’t want him on the bench as he has no value as a hitter. Pena is two years away from free agency and he is (like five other Astros) a Boras client. There’s not much in the free agent SS market, so maybe the Stros are considering trading Pena. If they think he’s really the league average hitter he was his first three years, and not the 132 OPS+ guy he was in 2025, that would probably be a good trade.
Picking up Dubon can’t ever be considered a steal. Ok so he plays a lot of positions.
I initially like this deal for the Braves.
We get a guy capable of playing SS, with GG defense, and he hits for average?
What’s not to appreciate?
Could be a big break for Dubon going into FA next year if he can claim the SS full time
100%. Contract year phenomenon is a real thing (& studies do show that, particularly in baseball). *Potential* for a career year, at least.
He hit .241 last year. Is that your standard for “hits for average”?
Maybe not average. But he’s good. The Astros used him at the bottom of the lineup, I think that’s the Braves GM’s thought. Bottom order guy, versatile defense. He’s going to get an 8 or 9 spot .
The problem for them is they have 4 or 5 guys that should be hitting 8th/9th.
Well, the Braves have to figure it out then. Ain’t my job to do their overflow problems for them. And who are those guys?
Braves have too many 8 or 9 hitters already. I was hoping Ozzie and Harris would man those spots. Harris was worse than Allen in OBP.
It is when you compare his bat to Allen’s.
Plus, if you read box scores, probably fewer than 50% of players have a higher BA than that.
It’s a product of the high velocity, 3 true outcomes era we are witnessing that the average BA is so low these days.
Dubo’s versatility plays. His bat is below MLB replacement level in average and power. He doesn’t walk and strikes out a lot.
His value is his fielding and versatility.
Let’s hope the Astros can improve Allen’s bat. Otherwise he’s going to be DFA’d before the Astros play the Angels in 2026. (Opening day)
He does not strike out a lot. Hes literally top ten in best K rate. He never strikes out. Or walks either.
@yankeejim not sure why people comment as if they know what they are talking about. “Dubon strikes out a lot” is one of the funniest thing I’ve read on here.
League batting averages have been in the. 240s range for the last several years. So. 241 is just slightly below average.
It’s a salary dump for Houston.
A second GG will be expensive in arbitration…
It balances out if labeling as insurance against Albies’ light option – hoping for Ozzie’s ceiling while fearing his floor (due to injury). And Riley just came from missing a third of the season, too — not to mention Dubon currently being the best SS option, as of this writing (don’t stop, AA).
Dubon was alot worse than Allen at SS last year. He just plays a million positions
I would give it a B for Atlanta and a B- for Houston if I’m grading. The reason is that Dubon is kind of expensive, and they traded away a gold glover to get a even more versatile gold glover. Not a A is because what Nick Allen could do in the following years. It could change, but now, B- for Houston, B for Atlanta.
GG for utility position. I had to laugh when I first saw that he had two GG.
Through 133 games, Dubon struck out 42 times.
Dubon’s career OPS is .668 while Allen’s is .536. So, Dubon is clearly a better hitter. Also, Dubon has extensive experience all over the infield and outfield. I was hoping the Braves would improve their bench for 2026, and this is a great start.
Kind of sad. Dubon was a fan fav here in Houston. But if Allen can get his offense right, it’s worth it.
You can count the number of fielders in the game that are better than Allen probably on 1 hand, but he will never even be an average hitter. He’d be Andrelton Simmons if so. High floor.
Wonder what the Houston scouts see.
Saving about $4mm.
I have a feeling Dubon is going to be an everyday player.
Doubtful but possible. Atlanta won’t be done shopping at SS but this allows them to feel less pressure to buy. What’s really better… Signing Kim or adding someone like Buxton along with Dubon. There’s a lot of ways to build out that roster/lineup and they still need pitching too.
Braves are all in on Bo Bichette.
@Igorant. Which team are you a fan fav on? I don’t follow the Braves, so I’m not sure about their offseason plans.
Thanks for the glove St Nick!
Bat not included!
Mauricio Dubon is one of the worst hitters in baseball. He cant hit at all.
Just watch Nick Allen for comparison (and I liked him).
….and was just traded for THE worst hitter in the NL. Advantage Braves.
And he’s still much better as a hitter than the guy he was traded for.
Man, the braves fell off hard.
Braves doing all the moves today.
Wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Braves non-tender him.
Each time Dubon has been traded I think his new team has won the trade. Astros now down another player who can play in OF though. At home, they can get away with not even having somebody in LF but they still need to get some new talent for the OF.
If he’s a bench bat, a guy who can play everywhere often enough to give guys time off, I’m ok with this. But if this is the move to upgrade SS, it’s a joke and I’d rather just keep Allen at the cost and control he was. It’s an offensive upgrade, sure. But not much. And he can play ss but he doesn’t play there much unless I’m missing something. Bench bat, fine. Anything else is unacceptable
I get what you’re saying about Allen’s team control, but don’t believe there was any way he would’ve stuck w/the Braves for 4 more years. Dubon’s a 1 year stopgap if he’s the SS and a decent utility piece otherwise. Still think Kim’s the guy they want.
100%. My comment is more to say, if this is our move to upgrade ss, I’m not happy cause we should be doing more. If it’s to upgrade the bench, I’m fine with it. Overall he can hit better than Allen and he can play all over the field. I don’t even care if we consider him a true bench bat or if he’s almost a near regular cause he’s playing everywhere giving folks breaks. But he simply can’t be the answer at short, even for a year. And sure Allen wasn’t gonna last 4 year but perhaps he does on the bench as a defensive replacement and he’s cheap. It’s clear the Braves are being a bit funny with money after last season. But hope they prove me wrong
No way he is going to be our SS. Please don’t say he will be.
He is probably a fail safe. I’m betting kims still the target. This is probably a “break glass in case of emergency option.”
Seems like a dunb trade for the astros, must be a salary dump.
This is a solid pickup. Ozzie’s got injury history, so Dubon is a guy who’s a major league level 2B who can cover in the outfield and short if necessary. This is an upgrade bench piece. I imagine this is also a sign Nacho’s days are numbered. They’re gonna trade him for anything they can get.
From your post to any other GM’s ears when it comes to Nacho. Deal him before the entire league realizes he can’t hit a ML fastball or play any position besides 3B. They already know, but—-hope. Don’t care if he’s just a throw in. Deal him.
I don’t believe the Braves have any hope for him. After he got sent back down in 2024, he never played SS at Gwinnett again. Just 3B. Pretty much shows they feel he has no defensive value anywhere but 3B—and his bat won’t play there for a contender. They sent him to the Arizona Fall League this year to show him off as a trade piece—-imo. Almost never see a player w/his ML time playing in that league.
Nick Allen, the ultimate conundrum, there are few players that are as exciting to watch in the field, or depressing to watch at the plate.
It’s a bummer dude can’t even bunt
Great move here AA
Works for both.
Dubon is a good backup plan for next season if the Braves can’t get anyone else and you’ll feel ok if he’s your starter. If they do then he’s a great util.
Allen gives the Stros a solid defender for 4 yrs. I think it’s worth the offensive downgrade.
I’d imagine he is emergency plan B in case Kim isn’t signed, or a better everyday SS isn’t acquired. Without a doubt he is more than adequately defensively to fill in all across the diamond if a better SS is obtained.
I don’t like this move at all. Mauricio Dubon has been a valuable contributor. Nick Allen will not be on the big league club next year. This is simply a salary dump. Allen will be released, traded or in AAA(if he has options left). Ramon Urias will be the one to fill the void made by Dubon’s absence.
According to the article, Allen has no options left.
Thanks. I was upset enough at this news I didn’t read everything. Every time I’ve watched Nick Allen on a baseball field I felt like he shouldn’t be in the major leagues. With Jeremy Peña (a gold glove shortstop) and Ramon Urias on the roster I don’t see how this guy gets any playing time.
@Mute: Looks like he’s the last player on your bench to me. Strictly late inning defensive purposes and short term injury replacements.
I just read on the Astros official site that Urías was DFA’d yesterday. The Astros are in decline, it’s official (I guess it kinda was already).
@Mute: Just read some comments that swapping Dubon’s salary for Allen’s has the Astros w/about the same payroll number they finished the season with—-and they still need pitching. Sounds like they’re cutting corners on the margins.
Indeed, It’s definitely a cash dump.
Urias was DFA’d earlier this offseason.
@ Allen If you read my comment I think two or three above yours I said that. And it was just yesterday. I read it after my initial comment and then commented it again
Read them both after I hit refresh on the thread. You snuck it in there on me before I could read it.
Let’s hope we get Kim. Dubon will be a much better bench piece than Luke Williams or Nacho.
I don’t hate Nacho. He’s a really good kid. Just believe that if he has a future in MLB, it’ll be somewhere else.
Maybe? Again, I don’t think his bat’s gonna play very well anywhere they stick him in the field and he’s really blocked everywhere in Atlanta since he can’t play SS. I’m thinking a rebuilding team like Colorado or the White Sox might have some interest in giving him playing time at 3B or 2B.
I was today years old when I learned there’s a Gold Glove for utility players. And its been around for 4 years.. Kinda seems like a Scrub of the Year award, but Gold Gloves are pretty meaningless anyway so whatever.
I don’t think Dubon will be the everyday SS, however I do think he’ll start the year playing vs LHP (probably a platoon with Drake, and Riley shifts to DH these days). But Riley and Albies almost always miss at least some time during the season. He’ll end up with about 300-400 PA. Good move for ATL.
I believe BOTH players are still non-tender candidates depending on how free agency plays out. But each team likes the position these players give them if it doesn’t work out the way they want.
Good observation,. I really hope the Astros don’t tender Allen a contract. His OPS last year was .535, and its .536 for his career.
Not sorry to see Nick Allen go. He was a Met killer with his glove.
Better fallback option for Braves. And a bit of leverage in Boras/Kim negotiations.
Dubon is bad juju
Why would Houston trade for a glove-first shortstop when they don’t need a shortstop? Just to change his position and likely weaken his glove without strengthening his bat? It makes no sense. Why not just non-tender Dubon?
Because Dubon is gonna make around $7M and Allen is way cheaper. And they need someone to fill the utility role.
But Allen is not a utility guy, he is a shortstop. Arguably one of the top 5 best defensive shortstops in the league. Why would get him to fill a utility role? And Dubon’s price tag is immaterial if the intent was to non tender him.
Allen played well at 2B after the Braves acquired Kim last season. Excellent middle infield defender. Could probably play 3B in a pinch too.
If you can play SS at the major league level, you can play any position on the infield.
Yeah, but not as well. These are human beings that have muscle memory not chess pawns that can easily be interchanged from game to game. When the ball is hit, each infield position takes a different path in a split second. At each position you have to think and react differently. At the speed of the big league game, the human mind cannot operate that quickly. You cannot convince me that doing 4 different things is just the same as doing one exclusively, so don’t bother trying. It might not be a huge difference, but there is a difference.
Carlos Correa moved to third base halfway through the season with no preparation and immediately played like a gold glover. Bo Bichette isn’t even a good shortstop and he learned second base overnight and played it in the World Series after missing an entire month. It translates. And Allen has all offseason to practice. The idea that he only plays 1 position is ridiculous.
Allen played very well at 2B when Ozzie was injured after Kim was acquired. No point in trying to discuss anything w/hiflew. He’ll just ban you if you disagree w/him.
When your shortstop is Jermey Pena (a gold glover), and with nice offensive production, then I think playing Allen at short is stupid.
Pena can get hurt, and he’ll need the occasional day off. And like I just said, they’re going to use Allen as a utility player. He’ll definitely be Altuve’s late game defensive replacement at 2B.
I know. But Allen should learn more positions like 3rd,1st, and maybe left in the Astros left field.
Of course he’ll learn more positions. Though if he’s ever playing left field we have a big problem.
Allen’s not going to play 1B in MLB. He’s 5′ 9″. Strong skillset in middle infield, will be adequate as a 3B utility. No way he ever plays 1B.
Oh I’m sure. But that’s the last position they’d ever need him at. He can play 2B/3B/SS and that’s what matters.
Sorry noquarter, I was directing that 1B comment to Astros27 saying Allen should learn 1st.
Allen could play 2nd, 3rd, SS, and maybe left in the Astros short porch.
The guy has a noodle arm and would struggle at 3B. His throws from SS often take two bounces to reach 1B.
$6M for a bench player is a lot for a team that has limited funds to upgrade so many weak spots.
Horrible trade for the Astros!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! IMO
I don’t love this deal because of the timing of it, currently.
If they already had another SS inked, it’d be different. You’re getting a marginally better bat with defensive versatility. That’s a huge positive because I’d like to see guys get some more rest days.
As it stands, that SS isn’t inked. And, I’d rather have Allen at SS with his glove for 150 games than Dubón.
Another low cost penny pinching move by AA. I do still think AA is a good GM, but he must be getting instructions from ownership to make moves like this
Dubon’s arb projection is $5.8M. Allen’s is $1.4M. Atlanta just took on $4.4M more in salary. Dubon’s likely the insurance plan at SS in case Kim isn’t re-signed or a really nice bench piece if Kim comes back. You don’t have a clue about what the Braves FO is doing. Pretty poor troll job—-even for you.
Definitely not a penny pinching move when the guy the Braves got is projected to make $6-$7 million more than what they gave up
This is a baseball trade, a trade that literally does nothing for either team, but it’s a baseball trade…
Good example of saying that you no nothing about the business of baseball without expressly saying that you know nothing about the business of baseball.
Lighten up buddy…
This is a very puzzling trade. Surely Astros could have traded the best utility player in all of baseball for a relief pitcher. – which they need badly.
Perhaps they plan to tarde Allen on to another team for a pitcher ?
It’s to free up money they can use in free agency while replacing Dubon with another quality defender on the bench.
A quality defender who basically plays one position and Pena is occupying that slot. As for the money, is $3-4M going to move the needle at all ?
If they are penny pinching this much I guess hopes of signing Cease & Gallen and bringing back Verlander are just wishful thinking.
If you’re good enough for shortstop you’re good enough for any position. And it could be as much as 5 million in difference and yes that can move the needle. That’s money they can use towards pitching, I don’t know why that makes you think it’s less likely they’ll spend it on pitching.
Allen played extremely well at 2B after the Braves acquired Kim (when Ozzie was injured.) He’s a quality defender at both middle infield positions.
r/Astros is in shambles right now. Crazy to see people losing their minds over a light hitting utility player. A lot of the same people who wanted to fire him into the sun in 2022 no doubt.
The Astros are in shambles, yes
So we accomplish nothing?? We got worse… OK this is just a salary dump. At least we could’ve traded for an arm.
Dubon. Solid enough bench player. Can play all over the field. Not totally useless with the bat
Projects for 88 wRC+ and 0.9 fWAR/525 PA
Nick Allen is a defensive specialist, of course
Projected for 76 wRC+ and 0.3 fWAR/154 PA
Allen actually has the better projection.
And Allen has more trade value ($2.6 to negative $2.6) than Dubon per BTV
No way.
More trade value ? You are joking surely.
Ideally, Allen would be the player to pair with Bichette as a late inning defensive replacement. Get through 7 innings with Bichette’s bat, and after you have a lead, replace him with Allen.
I’m an Astros fan, most of the fans are dumb as is the person who wrote that. This was a salary dump to get space for pitching. They are likely to non-tender Allen. I doubt he goes to camp. They already non-tendered Urias, who is better
They tendered Allen a contract.
…
So Braves probably doesn’t want to be seen desperate to Boras – representing HaSeong Kim. But imagine any team signs him first and then what leverage do they have left?