Dubón looks back with fondness
At 28, Mauricio Dubón has carved out a career as a reliable utility player. He has had stints with the Brewers, Giants, and now Astros since 2019 and is on the World Series roster.
He still wonders what might have happened had he stayed with the Red Sox.
Dubón became a prominent prospect with the Sox, hitting .323 with an .840 OPS and 30 stolen bases in 2016 with Portland and Salem. He was then traded to the Brewers as part of the deal that brought back reliever Tyler Thornburg.
“It’s part of the game,” Dubón said. “[Dave] Dombrowski came in and destroyed the whole system. But the Red Sox raised me to a professional level. They helped me a lot growing up.”
In Dombrowski’s defense, few of the Sox prospects he traded have amounted to much. Dubón has since been traded twice and has a modest .653 OPS over 262 major league games.
“To this day, I’m forever grateful the Sox gave me the opportunity they did,” Dubón said. “I still talk to some people there, especially people like [assistant GM] Raquel [Ferreira] and [field coordinator] Andy Fox.
“I hope Xander [Bogaerts] stays there because I know what he means to that organization. He was always great with me and other guys in the minors.”
Dubón played with Rafael Devers in 2016 and knew then he’d be a star.
“I’m not surprised at all he’s doing what he’s doing,” Dubón said. “I’m surprised they haven’t signed him yet. This is a guy who will be doing what he’s doing for the rest of his career. Coming up in the minors, you could see it.”
A few other observations on the Red Sox:
■ Christian Vázquez and Ryan Pressly are now teammates with the Astros trying to win the World Series. They were first teammates in 2008 with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in Fort Myers, Fla.
“Christian was my very first professional catcher,” Pressly said. “I was very pumped when we traded for him. We’ve always kept in contact. It’s great to see what he’s done.”
Pressly was a 19-year-old drafted out of high school in 2007. Vázquez was 17 and had been drafted that season.
“It’s crazy that all those years ago we were playing together,” Vazquez said. “He threw hard, 97-98, and had a good curveball. He’s even better now.”
Pressly progressed to Double A in 2012 before being taken by the Twins in the Rule 5 Draft. He was traded to the Astros in 2018 and has a 2.39 ERA, two All-Star berths, and 76 saves since.
■ Sox bench coach Will Venable is one of a large number of candidates to replace Mike Matheny as manager of the Royals. Kansas City also has interviewed several of its coaches, Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan, and Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough.
■ Here’s to Brock Holt, who announced his retirement as a player on Thursday. At 34, he’s on to the next stage in his life.
Holt was traded to the Sox before the 2013 season, part of a six-player deal with the Pirates that landed closer Joel Hanrahan. His acquisition was a footnote at the time, but Holt went on to play parts of seven seasons with the Sox and Hanrahan lasted only nine games before what proved to be a career-ending injury.
Holt was an All-Star in 2015 and played 109 games for the 2018 team before putting up an .894 OPS over 32 plate appearances in the postseason. He started games at all three outfield positions, all four infield positions, and DH while a member of the Sox.
Holt and his wife, Lakyn, also became devoted supporters of the Jimmy Fund and were full-time residents of Boston for a few years. They became close friends with many of the families they met at Dana-Farber.
Retirement for Holt could include some work for NESN. But the Sox would be smart to consider him for a role within baseball operations. He successfully navigated good times and bad while a member of the team, and that experience would be valuable in player development.