Bobby Dalbec has been white hot at the plate for the Worcester Red Sox over the last 18 games. The slugger has hit three homers in the last four games and has 10 blasts during that 18-game stretch.
Overall Dalbec is putting together a solid season at the plate for the WooSox, batting .306 with 14 homers and 35 RBIs and a 1.084 OPS in 40 games.
Despite his torrid last couple of weeks, it has not earned Dalbec another shot at cracking the Red Sox roster.
Dalbec has had two stints with the Red Sox this season, the 27-year-old is 2-for-11 (.182) with a .308 on-base percentage, .182 slugging percentage, one run, two walks and seven strikeouts.
You’d think with his performance with the WooSox, it would at least get him another chance with the big league club, considering the struggles of Triston Casas.
The 23-year-old Casas is hitting just .191 with six homers, 17 RBIs, 23 runs and an 87 wRC+. He's been striking out at a higher clip than last season which hasn't helped his early season woes. One massive criticism of Dalbec’s offensive approach has been he strikes out too much. It’s a fair critique, he’s punched out 35.1% of the time in the majors.
Casas hasn’t been that bad, but this season, he’s struck out 27.7% of the time and only walked 15.4% (down from 20% last season).
Boston has not seen consistent offensive production at first base in years but the organization appears to still be committed to their young first baseman.
On Sunday morning, Alex Cora was asked if Dalbec could be added back to the Red Sox in the near future.
“Where we’re at roster-wise, this is who we have,” said Cora. “We’re glad that he’s doing well -- not only hitting for power, but (also) hitting for average. But roster-wise, right now, this is who we have.”
There is no denying that the Washington native provides tremendous thump when in the batter’s box, but he’s failed to showcase that consistently and has been incredibly streaky.
Dalbec though see’s himself as a major leaguer and made a point of mentioning that when he spoke with BostonSportsJournal.com in Worcester at the beginning of the season.
“Roster-wise, with this organization, that's probably the best fit for me. I always have and always will see myself as an everyday middle-of-the-order, middle-of-the-lineup threat no matter what position I am at. Being able to excel at multiple positions will help my career with this team and other teams as well,” said Dalbec.
The 27-year-old understands he needs to showcase more value to his game outside of his power. He’s worked hard on becoming a versatile player for the organization.
“For a guy like Bobby, you look at him and the body and think this guy is a corner infielder. You then see the way that he moves and his athleticism, I would have never guessed we’d see him playing shortstop at any level, let alone the big leagues,” said Darren Fenster, Red Sox minor league coordinator exclusively to BSJ.
“Dalbec’s openness to work at being versatile and the coaching that we have, especially with Chad Tracy and Jose Flores, the openness of our major league staff has with bouncing these guys all over the place, it’s allowed it to open up opportunities for a lot of guys like him,” added Fenster.
The Red Sox prioritize ensuring they've given all their young players a road map for success once they get to the big leagues. That goes for both on and off the field.
“We don’t ever as an organization want something to happen at the big league level for the first time if we can help it on the minor league side," added Fenster.
The opportunities that Dalbec is looking for are seemingly going to other players, such as Enmanuel Valdez, Yu Chang and Pablo Reyes. Valdez is the only one of the three mentioned that offers any power potential. All three are continuing to squeeze the Arizona Wildcat alum out of the roster equation.
In mid-May, Peter Gammons wrote on Twitter that the Red Sox were “actively marketing” Dalbec.
“Two National League execs said yesterday the Red Sox are actively marketing Bobby Dalbec. That’s being fair to Dalbec where his career and the club are now, but both execs believe Dalbec can harness his enormous power and fill an everyday 3B role,” tweeted Gammons.
The better Dalbec performs for the WooSox at the plate while highlighting his versatility all on the field, he'll improve his trade value. You can argue that his power potential and being under team control through 2026 are the only real selling points based off his track record.
“I would think other teams are interested in me," he told MassLive.com in spring training. "Obviously I’ve been with this organization forever. I think they know what I can do and all that stuff. But I really haven’t put too much thought into that, honestly. It’s not really something I can control at all regardless of what I want or don’t want. Obviously I want to play every day but I love being here. I love these guys. I love this team, the staff, the organization. I have the same mindset no matter what role or where I’m going to be and that stuff."
One thing is for certain, Dalbec’s bat has been red hot for the WooSox, but not hot enough for him to get back to Fenway Park. With him being arbitration eligible in the fall, it might be time for a fresh start for him and the organization.