HOUSTON — Houston Astros utilityman Mauricio Dubón played the final month of the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, a person with knowledge of the injury told The Athletic.
Dubón will require surgery to repair the damage. Renowned hand surgeon Dr. Thomas Graham is scheduled to perform the procedure in Philadelphia.
A typical recovery time for the injury is six to eight weeks, meaning Dubón should be at full strength when the team reports to spring training in February.
Dubón injured his thumb while sliding into first base during a Sept. 6 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. X-rays revealed no damage at the time, but further imaging uncovered the ligament tear.
Despite pain when he swung and missed or while catching the baseball with the injured hand, Dubón played in 18 games after his injury, slashing .291/.322/.346 across 59 plate appearances.
Dubón appeared in both of the Astros’ Wild Card Series games against the Detroit Tigers and started in left field during Game 1. He collected two of the lineup’s five singles in Game 2 after being deployed as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning.
MLBTradeRumors projects Dubón will earn $4.6 million this winter during his third trip through the arbitration process.
(Photo: Logan Riely / Getty Images)
