Slugger Bobby Dalbec back to hitting homers for the WooSox
Bobby Dalbec hits his first Triple-A home run, just two days after being optioned back to the WooSox
The Red Sox optioned slugger Bobby Dalbec to Triple-A Worcester earlier this week, in favor of infielder Romy Gonzalez.
Dalbec made his debut for Worcester on the road in Syracuse on Wednesday, where he started in right field and went 0-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts.
With the first Triple-A game of the season under his belt, he was back in the lineup on Thursday night, penciled in the No. 4 hole, and went 1-for-3 with a solo blast and two strikeouts.
Dalbec’s blast went 410 feet over the right center field wall with an exit velocity of 107.3 mph. The home run for Dalbec was his 118th career minor league blast. His big fly came in a losing effort for the WooSox, who dropped the game 5-4, and have now lost two straight ballgames.
The right-handed power hitter was tied for the most dingers in the International League last season with the Memphis Cardinals’ Luken Baker with 33.
For the season, he hit .269 with 14 doubles, three triples, 114 RBIs, 64 walks, 18 stolen bases, and 169 strikeouts in 114 games.
With his return to Worcester, Dalbec will give the club a legitimate power threat in the heart of the lineup with the likes of Nathan Hickey, who has three homers, two of which came in the last three games. To open the season, Gonzalez was the other source of power for the WooSox. He had two triples and three blasts before he was recalled to the Red Sox.
Dalbec will offer Chad Tracy numerous options on the field; he can play first base, third base, shortstop, and right field. The Washington native played 43 games at third base, 28 at first base, six at shortstop, and 36 in right field in 2023.
Last season, Dalbec told Beyond the Monster that learning the outfield was going to be more trial and error.
“Still a little bit of trial and error stuff, but nothing crazy,” Dalbec said last April. “Just doing what I can. Using the big part of the field, timing, like I always say, effort level, all that stuff. Definitely keeping more of a structured notebook to help give me structure in my brain.”
The versatile fielder made the Red Sox Opening Day roster out of spring training. Dalbec played six of the Red Sox 10 games; he made three starts while going 0-for-9 with six strikeouts. He played both first base and third base during his limited sample size with the Red Sox this year.
Dalbec’s trip back to Triple-A exhausts all his minor league options.
