Fastball

Former Boston Red Sox Top Prospect, Slew of Others Elect Free Agency

The slugger hit 25 homers back in the 2021 season.

Brady Farkas

Boston Red Sox right fielder Bobby Dalbec (29) gets a base hit to drive in two runs against the Atlanta Braves in the fourth inning at Fenway Park on June 4.
Boston Red Sox right fielder Bobby Dalbec (29) gets a base hit to drive in two runs against the Atlanta Braves in the fourth inning at Fenway Park on June 4. / David Butler II-Imagn Images
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Former Boston Red Sox top prospect Bobby Dalbec has officially elected free agency, ending his run with the only organization he's ever known.

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Jamie Westbrook and Brad Keller will also hit the open market.

Dalbec made his major league debut with the Red Sox during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. While he was prone to the strikeout, Dalbec flashed tremendous power early in his career, leading people to think he could be a long-term answer for the Red Sox at first base. He hit eight homers in just 23 games during the COVID season and then popped 25 homers in 133 games in 2021 as the Red Sox got to the ALCS.

Unfortunately, Dalbec's numbers continued to regress from there and he found himself behind Tristan Casas on the depth chart. He was shuttled constantly between Triple-A and the big leagues.

In 2022, he hit .215 in just 117 games. Then, in 2023 he played only 21 games, hitting .204. This past year, he hit .133 in 37 contests.

Despite his recent failures at the big-league level, Dalbec has continued to flash power in the minors. He hit 20 homers at Triple-A Worcester this year after hitting 33 there a year ago.

Dalbec was ranked as a Top-100 prospect in all of baseball by both Baseball America and MLB.com at one point. He got as No. 75 by Baseball America heading into 2020.

Given his age (29) and his past production, he's likely to get another chance this offseason, though it might come in the form of a minor league pact.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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