by doing the Red Sox bobby dalbec available in trade negotiations Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal. McAdam adds that the Rays are a team that has expressed interest.
Dalbec, 27, is wrapping up a bad year in Boston, where he hit just .215/.283/.369 with 12 home runs and finally found the option to go back to the juniors in September. Dalbec hit a massive 33.4% versus 8.2% walking rate. As a result, this was fine for a wRC+ of 80, or 20% worse than the league average.
A former top 100 contender, Dalbec took the big leagues stage in 2020 with an impressive, albeit brief, example. He made eight home runs in 23 games that year and amassed 151 wRC+, but 42.4% of his Plate appearances. It was a bit back down to earth in 2021, but still produced above-average production and dropped .240/.298/.494 with 25 home runs in 133 games.
Dalbec made it through the minor leagues as third baseman, but spent most of his time in the big leagues at first. He debuted in third place for a while and also made several short cameos in both midfield positions. He was below average in the first stage, Above Averages marked him as -1 and Defensive Runs Recovered gave him a -6 this year.
It’s not easy for Dalbec to see a way to play more in Boston after a particularly bad season. Triston Casas he made his debut at 22 and looks ready to get plenty of replays in the debut or DH, probably splitting the time Eric Hosmer (if he stays on the roster). Finished on the third Rafael Devers He’s locked in third place for at least next season, so it makes some sense for the Red Sox to see what they can get for a former top candidate who’s young enough to turn things around.
since the trade Ji Man Choi For the Pirates, it looked like the Rays would likely be in the market for a first baseman. Already linked to non-tender Dominik Smithand Dalbec would make sense to them as a low uptake, rebound candidate. The right-handed player still has a year to qualify for arbitration, so there will be a fair amount of objections there, especially for small market teams.
While Rays makes a lot of sense as a trading target, there will likely be a few teams interested, perhaps some intending to take it back to base third. After all, if Dalbec is just a year away from a solid 106 wRC+ season and rebounds, most teams will definitely give him a shot as a cheap, powerful bench.
