Red Sox Reportedly Place Fan Favorite Slugger On Trade Block After Poor Stint In Boston

It's time to let go of a once-promising prospect

Scott Neville | May 14, 2023

Red Sox Reportedly Place Fan Favorite Slugger On Trade Block After Poor Stint In Boston /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have given plenty of opportunities for one of their former top prospects to become the high-powered slugger many believed he could become.

Unfortunately, after years of lackluster production, the Red Sox reportedly are finally willing to move on.

"Two National League execs said yesterday the Red Sox are actively marketing Bobby Dalbec," Longtime Red Sox pundit Peter Gammons tweeted Sunday. "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 third base role. All-time good guy."

Dalbec has all of the physical tools to be an elite slugger but failed to improve any of the key flaws in his game. The big right-hander has a career 35.1% strikeout rate at the Major League level and appears to be incapable of dropping that tally. He's currently sporting a 38.4% strikeout rate for Triple-A Worcester this season.

There has been this longstanding idea that someone should bank on his upside but he's a couple of months away from turning 28 years old. He should be well into his prime by now.

Dalbec was easy to root for, to the point where he had "Bobby" chants echoing through Fenway Park anytime he came up to the plate in a big spot -- despite never having the production to warrant the fanfare.

If the Red Sox do find a trade partner, they likely will get very little in return. The Tampa Bay Rays were a rumored trade destination in the offseason, it would be interesting to see if they have some analytical data to turn him around. That seems unlikely since you cannot do much to improve bat-to-ball skills using data.

Dalbec will be easy to root for wherever he ends up but a trade has been long overdue.

More MLB: Ex-Red Sox Pitcher Reportedly Will Be Hottest Commodity At Trade Deadline

Published May 14, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu