ATLANTA, GEORGIA – MARCH 30: Mauricio Dubón #14 of the Atlanta Braves throws to first base in the sixth inning of a game against the Athletics at Truist Park on March 30, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images)
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They did it again.
Shhhhhhh.
I’m talking about Terry McGuirk and Alex Anthopoulos, the dynamic duo in the front office of the Atlanta Braves, ranked eighth on the Forbes list of team valuations at $3.35 billion. They prefer anonymity, but they need to be exposed. They were shrewd enough to lock up their primary starters for years with deals worth the Major League Baseball equivalent among their peers to the cost of a prize in a Cracker Jack box.
Here’s the latest: They got Mauricio Dubon from the Houston Astros in November for about half the price of a prize in a Cracker Jack box, and Dubon has spent most of the year as their MIP.
You know, Most Important Player.
Earlier this season, when I introduced myself at Truist Park in Atlanta to Dubon as a Forbes.com sports journalist, he rose from his stool in the home clubhouse. Then he shook my hand, and he uttered with the brightest of smiles, “I’m trying to get there.”
Trying to get there?
OK, since Dubon was born and raised in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, I figured he didn’t understand my introduction.
He sensed my confusion.
“Forbes. You said you write for Forbes. Money. I’m trying to get there when it comes to making money,” said Dubon, laughing, and at this rate during his first season with the Braves, he’ll get closer to where he wants to go with his bank account in a hurry.
This perennially joyful soul known as “Dubie” owns several distinctions to make his current yearly salary of $6.1 million only a temporary stop on his upward financial climb.
In no particular order:
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – MAY 22: Chadwick Tromp #39 of the Atlanta Braves reacts with Mauricio Dubon #14 after a walk off single to end the game in the eleventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Truist Park on May 22, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
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* Dubon just won the 2026 Heart and Hustle Award from the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, which only made sense. He’s among the most popular guys in the Braves’ clubhouse, and that’s attributable to his positive energy, both on and off the diamond.
* Out of all the players in Major League Baseball history with the ability to play multiple positions beyond average on a consistent basis, Dubon is having the best season since, well, maybe since anybody in this category.
* Dubon is that Most Important Person on baseball’s most economically efficient team among the big spenders in the sport.
For perspective, the Braves are worth less than half that of the New York Yankees ($8.5 billion) at No. 1 and the Los Angeles Dodgers ($7.8 billion) at No. 2 on Forbes’ list of team valuations, but the Braves have been as potent (and sometimes more so) as those other franchises this season.
Although the San Francisco Giants ended the Braves’ seven-game winning streak Monday night in Atlanta with a 7-3 victory, the Braves still rank among the elite of the MLB elite with an 82-56 record that leads the National League East.
As for Forbes and that money thing on Dubon’s bucket list, he’s nowhere near the definitive salary for a MIP of any team, especially one like the Braves.
Spotrac.com puts Dubon’s career earnings after eight MLB seasons at $23.8 million. That’s less than each of the yearly salaries of eight Dodgers players — Shohei Ohtani ($70.0 million), Kyle Tucker ($60.0 million), Tarik Skubal ($32.0 million), Tyler Glasnow ($27.3 million), Freddie Freeman ($27.0 million), Yoshinobu Yamamoto: ($27.08 million), Blake Snell ($26.0–$31.3 million) and Mookie Betts ($30.4 million).
Dubon’s piggybank is light compared to his worth. Even so, he continues to do something for the Braves with frequency.
Everything.
He grabbed Gold Gloves in 2023 and 2025 with the Houston Astros, but his 2026 defense has been more impressive than that.
For the Braves, he has generated highlight reels in left field and center field as well as at shortstop, second base and third base. He also has played first base and right field for MLB teams.
ATLANTA, GA – JUNE 4: Mauricio Dubón #14 of the Atlanta Braves stands ready in the second inning during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Truist Park on June 4, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr.Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
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What about catching?
“Catching? In an emergency? I mean, why not?” Dubon said quickly before adding emphatically, “I caught in high school.”
Can you pitch?
“Yeah, I can pitch,” Dubon said, without hesitation. “I have the arm and everything, but pitching is different. I’m not sure about the stamina. One good inning, and that would be it.”
So Dubon really is only human.
It’s just hard to tell sometimes.
After stints for Dubon in left field and at third base during his previous four games before Monday night, he played shortstop against the Giants, and he flirted again with making ESPN SportsCenter’s top plays. He dove to his right for a grounder sprinting toward left from Osleivis Basabe, scrambled to his feet after snatching the thing and gunned a throw to first base for the out.
Dubon’s offensive numbers are a lie (.270 batting average, 10 home runs and 64 RBIs), and the truth comes when you realize he ranks among the mighty at the plate in the clutch. He’s hitting .325 (37-for-114) with runners in scoring position, .352 (19-for-54) with runners in scoring position and two outs and .533 (8-for-15 and 16 RBIs) with the bases loaded.
To hear Dubon tell it, this Dubon is just getting more playing opportunities than the one who began his MLB career in 2019 with the Milwaukee Brewers before four seasons with the Giants and four more with the Astros along the way to capturing the 2022 World Series.
Somehow, the Braves stole Dubon in November from the Astros for Nick Allen, a decent shortstop with a career batting average of .220 in his fifth MLB season.
ATLANTA, GA – JULY 18: (L-R) Terry McGuirk, chariman of the Atlanta Braves, General Manager Alex Anthopoulos and Derek Schiller, President and CEO of the Atlanta Braves speak to the media before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Truist Park on July 18, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
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Here’s how: McGuirk and Anthopoulos.
Now forget about them, because they wish to operate in the shadows while performing their baseball magic.
McGuirk has been deep into the Braves’ decision-making process since he jumped from serving as an intern during the summer of 1972 for a local Atlanta television station purchased by Ted Turner to operating as Turner’s top lieutenant when the boss owned the Braves from 1976 to 1996.
After Turner merged his business with Time Warner in 1996, the new venture showed wisdom by keeping McGuirk in charge of the franchise. He stayed at the top over the next 11 years under Time Warner, and nothing changed for McGuirk in 2007 when Liberty Media took over the Braves.
Liberty Media spun off the franchise into Atlanta Braves Holding Inc., in 2023, and guess who remained the chairman and CEO of the company as well as for Braves Development Company, the real estate entity that owns and operates The Battery, which is the mixed-use area next to Truist Park?
Yep.
It was McGuirk who spent November 2017 hiring Anthopoulos, the brilliant baseball executive for the Toronto Blue Jays and later the Dodgers.
Since then, McGuirk and his 49-year-old president of baseball operations and general manager have constructed enough financially sound rosters during the past eight-plus years for 762 victories during the regular season while making seven playoff trips, which included a 2021 World Series championship. Only the Dodgers (830), the Yankees (775) and the Astros (774) entered Monday’s action with more regular-season victories during that stretch than the Braves.
We’re back to the knack of McGuirk and Anthopoulos finding the right players at the right time and at the right price. For verification, read the salaries below from Spotrac.com for some of the Braves’ top players and compare those numbers to the ones above for the Dodgers.
* Second baseman Ozzie Albies was 22 when he signed a seven-year deal in April 2019 for $35 million with club options at $7 million for this year and next year.
* Right fielder Ronald Acuna was 21 when he signed an eight-year deal nine days after Albies in April 2019 for $100 million through this year, with club options at $17 million for 2027 and 2028.
* First baseman Matt Olson was 27 when he signed an eight-year deal in March 2022 for $168 million through 2029 with a club option of $20 million in 2030.
* Center fielder Michael Harris II was 21 when he signed an eight-year deal in August 2022 for $72 million through 2030 with a club option at $15 million in 2031 and at $20 million in 2032.
* Third baseman Austin Riley was 26 when he signed a 10-year contract worth $212 million through 2032 with a club option at $20 million for 2033.
Now about contracts and Dubon, who will turn 33 in the middle of next season. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent after this one.
So, the Braves could try to sign their MIP beforehand to a multi-year deal, or given his age, they could seek to entice him into accepting something shorter, or they could give him a firm handshake on the way out the door.
More than likely, McGuirk and Anthopoulos will make the definitive decision.
See above.
Dubon also will have a say here.
And this is for sure: By this time next year, he’ll make way more than the cost of a prize in a Cracker Jack box.
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