The strange way Mauricio Dubón helped the SF Giants acquire Lewis Brinson

Lewis Brinson has been electric since joining the SF Giants, and the Astros might never have traded him if it wasn't for old friend Mauricio Dubón.
The strange way Mauricio Dubón helped the SF Giants acquire Lewis Brinson
The strange way Mauricio Dubón helped the SF Giants acquire Lewis Brinson /

Seemingly out of thin air, outfielder Lewis Brinson has emerged as the most exciting player on the SF Giants. Once considered one of the best prospects in the minor leagues, Brinson never found his footing with the Brewers and Marlins. However, Brinson has been the best player on the Giants since they acquired him in a trade with the Astros last week. Yet, there's an argument to be made that San Francisco never could have traded for the 28-year-old outfielder if it were not for Mauricio Dubón.

Dubón, of course, was one of the most popular young players on the Giants over the past few years. Acquired at the 2019 MLB trade deadline in a deal that sent a pair of relievers to the Brewers, Dubón quickly became an instant sparkplug in their lineup, hitting .279/.312/.442.

The following year, the Giants wanted to experiment with Dubón's versatility. A career infielder, who was primarily developed as a shortstop, the Giants' new coaching staff with manager Gabe Kapler gave Dubón an opportunity to play center field. Dubón took to it immediately.

Former SF Giants utility man Mauricio Dubon in the dugout with the Astros.
Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

By the end of the 2020 season, Dubón had emerged as the team's primary center fielder against left-handed hitters and seemed like a part of the team's core going forward. However, while the Giants burst onto the scene in 2021 en route to a 107-win season, Dubón had his worst offensive performance as a pro. Even in his limited role, Dubón had an OPS of just .677 and spent nearly as much of the season at Triple-A as he did on San Francisco's major-league roster.

After a slow start this year, which included several costly baserunning mistakes, the Giants decided it was time to move on from the Honduran utilityman and traded him to the Houston Astros for catcher Michael Papierski on May 14th.

The deal did not play out well for the Giants. Papierski struggled mightily in the Giants organization and was designated for assignment before the end of June. While Dubón has continued to struggle offensively in Houston, he has carved out a valuable role with the AL West leaders as a valuable defensive replacement at second base, shortstop, and all three outfield spots. Yet, there's an argument to be made that San Francisco would have never been able to acquire Brinson this September if they had not traded Dubón to the Astros.

SF Giants outfielder Lewis Brinson runs the bases after hitting a home run.
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Astros have been searching for a good defensive center fielder who could hit left-handed pitching for some time. Searching for depth in their upper minors, Houston was able to ink Brinson to a minor-league deal heading into this season, where they hoped to help him turn a corner at Triple-A.

Brinson dealt with a pair of injuries this season, but when he was been healthy, he was one of the most productive hitters in Triple-A, belting 22 home runs alongside an exceptional .299/.356/.574 triple-slash in 85 games.

While Brinson was crushing minor-league pitching, the Astros were churning through center field options. José Siri started the year as their primary center fielder against left-handed pitching but hit just .178/.238/.304 before they traded him to the Rays at the deadline. Jake Meyers was another right-handed hitter who Houston gave an extended audition this season. After hitting just .209/.255/.302 with 50 strikeouts in 149 plate appearances, he was optioned to the minors.

In fact, the struggles of players like Siri and Meyers had our sibling site over at Inside the Astros asking if Houston's front office was going to give Brinson a chance. Instead, they stuck with Dubón, who is currently platooning with Chas McCormick in center.

Had the Giants held onto Dubón or traded him to a different team, there's a very real chance that the Astros would not have been comfortable enough with their outfield depth to trade Brinson for cash. In fact, Brinson could have easily been called up to Houston and been blasting homers for the 'Stros.

It's important to clarify that this is not a conspiracy theory claiming the SF Giants played 4-D chess by moving Mauricio Dubón to the Astros so they could land Brinson months later. The Giants front office would surely prefer to have acquired a player who was able to become a long-term contributor for Dubón, but baseball is funny that way. Teams spend painstaking amounts of time hyper analyzing every move, and yet, sometimes they just get lucky and a former top 100 prospect like Lewis Brinson goes from a minor-league filler in one organization to the most exciting player on another. Luckily for Giants fans, this time, the luck seems to have fallen in their favor.


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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).