Red Sox skipper Alex Cora on DFA'd Bobby Dalbec: ‘He’s still a good player. Good defender’
The Red Sox designated Bobby Dalbec for assignment on Sunday to make room for Richard Fitts on the 40-man roster.
The once highly touted prospect, who impressed in his rookie season by belting 25 homers, never found consistency at the big league level. Dalbec burst on the scene during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, bashing eight homers in 80 at-bats (23 games). He followed that up with a strong rookie season, playing in 133 games, mashing 25 homers with 78 RBI with a .792 OPS.
Since his rookie season, Dalbec has hit just 14 homers, 13 doubles, two triples, 48 RBI, .599 OPS with 198 strikeouts in 175 games for Boston. He has a 36.8% strikeout percentage in the majors, punching out 384 times in 1,044 plate appearances, according to FanGraphs.
“If you look at the swing and miss percentages, he’s up there,” said Alex Cora to reporters before the game. “He’s still a good player. Good defender. Has some pop. He’s a good athlete. So well, what happens in the upcoming days, and then we’ll know more.”
Dalbec’s time with the Red Sox organization may not come to an end. He will need to clear waivers, and due to his service time, he is unable to refuse an outright assignment back to Triple-A Worcester. The Red Sox are not able to trade him, and they could release him and allow him to seek a new job elsewhere.
The opportunity for Dalbec to land with a new team would be beneficial for the slugger, and Cora alluded to reporters that it might be time for both parties to go their separate ways.
“I hate to say that, right, but it’s happened before,” Cora said on whether Dalbec needs a change of scenery. “Like I said, let’s see what happens in the upcoming days, and we’ll know more.”
This season with Worcester, Dalbec has hit .255 with 19 homers, 17 doubles, one triple, 64 RBI, 41 walks, .341 OBP, .491 slugging percentage, and a .833 OPS (85 games). Dalbec hit just .133 with a homer and eight RBI in 83 at-bats with Boston this season.
