Trade rumors swirled around Bobby Dalbec back in December, and Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) now writes that the Red Sox are still “taking trade calls on” on the former top-100 prospect. Dalbec entered today’s action with a .286/.403/.551 slash line and six home runs over 119 plate appearances for Triple-A Worcester this season, his best performance yet in his third season of Triple-A ball. Of course, there hasn’t been much question about Dalbec’s ability to hit in the minors, but his MLB output has been much more inconsistent. After a .959 OPS over 92 PA as a rookie in 2020, Dalbec has hit a much more modest .228/.292/.436 slash line over 819 PA since the start of the 2021 season.
Since first and third base are Dalbec’s primary positions, he is blocked by both Triston Casas and superstar Rafael Devers, so the Red Sox have tried Dalbec out as a second baseman, shortstop, and right fielder at the MLB and minor league level in an effort to figure out how to fit his bat into the lineup. An argument could be made that Dalbec might benefit from not just a fresh start on a new team, but perhaps also just settling into his natural spot as a corner infielder on a team with more opportunity at those positions. Dalbec isn’t exactly a youngster any more since he turns 28 in June, but as a post-hype prospect, he could be an interesting trade chip for the Sox to offer, as it looks like they’ll be competitive in at least the wild card hunt.
More from around the AL East…
- Santiago Espinal left today’s game with right hamstring discomfort, bringing a sour end to a day that saw the Blue Jays infielder collect three hits. The big performance boosted Espinal’s slash line to only .205/.266/.274 over 80 plate appearances, as his struggles have increasingly cost him playing time as part of Toronto’s second base platoon. If Espinal has to visit the injured list, Otto Lopez or Ernie Clement could be infield depth options for the Jays at Triple-A, though Clement isn’t on the 40-man roster.
- Sticking with the Blue Jays, Addison Barger might’ve been part of the call-up picture if he’d been healthy, but the infield prospect has now missed over three weeks with an elbow injury. According to TSN’s Scott Mitchell (Twitter link), a checkup with Dr. Keith Meister revealed no structural damage, so Barger is back to rehabbing. A sixth-round pick for the Jays in the 2018 draft, Barger came close to winning a job on Toronto’s Opening Day roster this spring.
- Speaking of minor league injuries, the Orioles placed Colton Cowser on the injured list at Triple-A Norfolk today due to a left quad issue. One of many highly-touted prospects in Baltimore’s loaded farm system, Cowser was the fifth overall pick of the 2021 draft, and has mashed Triple-A pitching to the tune of seven home runs and a .331/.469/.554 slash line over 179 PA this season. There has already been speculation about Cowser’s MLB debut coming sooner rather than later, but the consensus top-50 prospect will have to wait a little longer while his quad heals.
Otto Lopez is hitting ..213 in AAA. He’s really been struggling. The Jays have enough guys who aren’t hitting. Clement has performed much better. So has Rafael Lantigua. I know both of those guys need a 40-man roster spot, but the Jays need a little bit of offensive punch right now & it might be worth creating a roster spot to bring one of those guys up.
The bench is very weak. If Espinal does hit the IL, depth coverage is going to be thin.
There’s also Davis Schneider who isn’t quite as hot as those guys but has a longer history of doing the things that are making him good now. I guess it depends on the usage you are replacing in Espinal. Espinal mostly plays 2B against LHP but Merrifield can do that if you just want your replacement to play a less demanding position in LF. The most important role Espinal plays is one he’s not used in much and that’s the backup SS. while Lantigua and Schneider have played a few innings there, I don’t think it’s ideal. Clement can probably cover it more capably. But as you said, he’s not on the 40. So if it’s a short term absence, maybe they just stick with Lopez but a longer term opportunity might go to Clement.
Call up Daclbec and start Valdez every game
Personally I’m gonna go with the guy with the 110 ops+ over the guy with the 38 ops+ but YMMV.
King – With Casas in another 1-for-14 drought and just two walks, first base should go to Turner and Dalbec can play 1B when JT is DH’ing.
Your going to swap 1 struggling prospect for 1 proven dud…gotcha.
Dalbec’s problem is that corner infielders are so abundant right now. Several teams in position to take a chance on giving him an opportunity have their own surplus of corner IFs. And I don’t think a contending team would really want to take a chance on a guy that hasn’t proven he belongs in the majors.
Injuries happen and depending on who else is available, he could be an interesting small chip. He won’t be a first choice for a contender but he could be the top available option especially given his modest salary and likely trade cost. Sox might get back a disappointing reliever or more depth for the minors but that’s really it if traded alone. If packaged, he could appeal to a team looking at next year.
I don’t really see many teams being interested in Dalbec. Maybe in a change of scenery swap, or as a third or fourth piece to a larger package, but I doubt there are teams who are clamoring for his services, and willing to surrender anything worthwhile for Dalbec alone.
Ithink a team like the brewers could take a shot . He’s younger than Voit and Anderson is only around for 1 year. Won’t cost much of anything to grab him.
They grabbed Rowdy Tellez on the low too. He’s probably a year away from being too expensive in arb. For the production he provides for Milwaukee.
mlb122515 hours ago
I don’t really see many teams being interested in Dalbec.
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The non-contenders would be stupid to not take a shot. Washington, KC, and Cincy, and probably Detroit should give him the entire rest of the season to see if he can straighten things out.
They won’t surrender any real prospects, but he should fetch something.
Trading Dalbec (or DFA) was a foregone conclusion when Bloom arrived. Dalbec is yet another DD guy. He plays the same position as the wannabe franchise guy that got paid way over his worth and the prospect who has a highly placed supporter in the organization. You can’t beat politics with good play in the Red Sox organization with Bloom running it and Cora making day to day decisions. Dumb and Dumber do not use a merit system.
He had no chance but he did put up two outstanding second halves in close to three years. His Isolated power is his strength, his size makes him serviceable at 1B and 3B. He’s an ideal off the bench guy that could end a game with a single swing of the bat.
Look at the track record of Bloom when it comes to letting go talent. Mookie was not supposed to maintain his numbers in LA, but he has. Benny was washed up but it turns out he’s not. Bogey was on the decline, but it turns out he isn’t. JD was toast but he too has proven he isn’t. Eovaldi was an injury risk but in fact he’s not. Dalbec is a bust but if traded he’ll prove he’s not!!! I like Dalbec and I had hoped that if he survived until Bloom and Cora were gone he might get a fair shake at proving he can add value to the team but Bloom has boxed himself into a corner by over spending on multiple players and now he’s playing Monte Hall (Let’s Make a Deal for you younger readers!) with anything that might bring him yet another unknown crap player who might go on a short hot streak and make him look good. It won’t last but every day he isn’t fired is a victory for Bloom at this point.
Bobby Dalbec, like so many before you, I wish you nothing but the best of luck and may you crush any team Bloom is associated with in the future!!
Both Dalbec and Casas were brought in by DD but for some reason you’ve convinced yourself it’s only a factor where Dalbec is concerned. Makes perfect sense.
Kingken – Haven’t you noticed the huge difference in the way the organization treats Dalbec vs Casas?
1 – Casas got ranked by MLB and other rating services just like Downs and Swihart while Dalbec never did like Mookie. Did you know Mookie was in the majors before he got ranked in the top 100? How messed up is that? Yet Swihart who was supported by the organization was ranked in the top 100 for two years before he got to the majors and proved he was a joke.
2. – When Dalbec first to start it wasn’t at 3B where he should have been playing it was at 1B as a placeholder until Casas came up. Devers should have been moved to DH to make room for Chavis and later Dalbec. Neither had someone supporting them in the front office so both became utility players and the minute that happened you knew they were heading out the door soon.
I differentiate the future of Red Sox players based on how the front office supports the player. Some guys like Mookie have to prove themselves before the front office gives any support and others have it handed to them as if they were anointed from above which they were because the above is the front office. Devers is the perfect example of the second type of player. He made it whereas Downs and Swihart failed miserably as chosen ones..
It’s called politics. It’s not what you can do it’s who you know. If a player has the right person in their corner then they will get favorable treatment, if they don’t they’ll need to earn everything they get.
It does make perfect sense. Next time you see a guy on the top 100 list who hasn’t played enough to have earned that spot, put him in the Devers/Downs/Swihart category. Next time you review the minor league stats and think a player is excellent but he’s not on the list, put him in the Dalbec/Chavis category. It’s just that simple and straight forward. Politics over performance. It’s the Bloom way, it’s the Red Sox way.; Maybe that’s why ownership has hung onto the loser for such a long time?
Right. Now the Sox somehow manipulate external prospect ranking organizations like Baseball America. Dalbec and Chavis are very similar players. Both have great power but poor strike zone management and poor contact skills. That’s why they never hit high in rankings and why they haven’t done much in the majors. Corner IF power bats that can’t actually put the bat on the ball aren’t worth much.
Now the Sox somehow manipulate external prospect ranking organizations like Baseball America. Dalbec and Chavis are very similar players.
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For some reason, the haters always seem to think the the RS run the rating agencies.
IRT Dalbec & Chavis, Chavis had almost no chance. He couldn’t reach outside FBs, and didn’t have enough power to go deep the other way. Dalbec has much better reach and power. When he goes with the pitch, he is a jegit threat.
Fair enough. Dalbec being overall bigger can cover more of the plate. But in the end the ball never goes anywhere, let alone a long way, if you don’t make contact with it.
Kd17 –
1 – Casas got ranked by MLB and other rating services just like Downs and Swihart while Dalbec never did like Mookie. Did you know Mookie was in the majors before he got ranked in the top 100? How messed up is that? Yet Swihart who was supported by the organization was ranked in the top 100 for two years before he got to the majors and proved he was a joke.
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You lose a very important moment.
When Red Sox had problems with LF and there were Vazquez and Leon in the table of depth of catchers, Farrell dare on an experiment with Swihart and sent him in the left field, he got injury in 2016 and after this Swihart already wasn’t former .
2.. – When Dalbec first to start it wasn’t at 3B where he should have been playing it was at 1B as a placeholder until Casas came up. Devers should have been moved to DH to make room for Chavis and later Dalbec. Neither had someone supporting them in the front office so both became utility players and the minute that happened you knew they were heading out the door soon.
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You accuse Bloom of that he spoiled Chavis.
Why Chavis, if he such talented and underestimated player didn’t take advantage of the given chance in Pittsburg (2022) and in this season in Washington doesn’t get in lineup?
2022 – “Pittsburg” M.Chavis ( Inf )
129G, 401AB, 92H, 14HR, 33XBH, 19Walks( 4.5% ), 126SO ( 29.6%), .229Avg, .654Ops, +84Ops.
Career MLB
323G, 1043AB, 248H, 40HR, 85XBH, 61Walks(5.5%), 354SO(31.6%), .238Avg, 687Ops, +83Ops.
If you not in a course, Chavis was caught on the use of PED in Minor in 2015.
More constant whining and complaining about Bloom…. so predictable.
none of what KD says is rooted in any kind of fact. Bennintendi has been pedestrian at best with a decent average, no power and average to above average on base skills. JD Martinez has already missed time and the power outage he experienced last year is carrying over to this year. Eovaldi is still an injury risk based on his entire body of work during his career and especially during his time with the red sox (1 season of making 30 plus starts and only 9 in 12 during the COVID year. 6 starts into one season does not a healthy season make.
Not to mention the facts that if you asked most Sox fans if they’d rather have had Benny the past 2 years or Winckowski right now and going forward I think most are smart enough to take the latter. And no one claimed either Mookie nor Bogaerts would fall apart as players immediately after they left Boston. But with 9 and 10 years left on their contracts respectively both are likely to be in albatross contract territory by the end of their deals. In fact I can even see Bogey regretting his deal himself in another 6 years when he has to keep dragging himself through the work to get his body through a full season for the mediocre level of play he’ll be producing at that point. I could go on but there’s just so much nonsense in KD’s posts and I don’t want to clog this comment section with yet another comment that’s longer than the original MLBTR article.
kingken674 hours ago
Not to mention the facts that if you asked most Sox fans if they’d rather have had Benny the past 2 years or Winckowski right now
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Wait! The Benni trade is still being discussed? While it is way too early to declare victory, Winc is looking pretty good.
Cooper – More trashtalking and no baseball content, so typical.
are you made he’s stealing your mo?
KD17 –
Trading Dalbec (or DFA) was a foregone conclusion when Bloom arrived. Dalbec is yet another DD guy. He plays the same position as the wannabe franchise guy that got paid way over his worth and the prospect who has a highly placed supporter in the organization. You can’t beat politics with good play in the Red Sox organization with Bloom running it and Cora making day to day decisions. Dumb and Dumber do not use a merit system.
He had no chance but he did put up two outstanding second halves in close to three years.
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When did Dalbec conduct 2 outstanding second halves for 3, I missed out something?
You have a right on the point of view if you dislike Bloom.
I have a request, if you communicate the language of facts that don’t distorts these facts, because young fans of Red Sox will believe you on a word unchecking these facts.
I kinda disagree with the writer saying Dalbec is blocked by Devers and Casas. Truth is that he was given his chance to be the starting 1B .and didn’t perform., Since his most likely path now to the MLB roster is as a bench player, he is now blocked by Turner and somewhat by KiKi if they are serious in using Dalbec as a middle infielder/outfielder.
They should keep him at AAA for depth.
Red Sox need roster space. Several players coming back over the next month and Dalbec is worth something. For depth reasons, the only position Dalbec is needed is 1B and Casas and Turner have that covered. Also, if needed an OFer could cover.
Refsnyder has played first, and Duval is coming back soon.
DBH – Switching Dalbec from 3B to 1B so the BUTCHER OF BOSTON doesn’t have to move to his ONLY defensively acceptable position of DH is why he was blocked at 3B. You are right he wasn’t blocked by Casas at 1B he was over-shadowned by a favorite son at 1B.
Once the front office decided 1B was Casas’ spot to lose while he was still performaing league average in the minors you knew Dalbec had no place in the Red Sox organization just like Chavis a few years ago.
They won’t keep Dalbec very long because he’s a remaining DD guy and they see no future for him. He needs a trade to get a fair shake at playing just like Benny, Chavis and so many other DD guys.
KD17 –
You until now cry on Chavis that was caught on the use of PED in Minors and that is spare part at the best?
Youser, youser here comes Colton Cowser.
As a Birds fan, here’s hoping his major league career is as fruitful as his minor league one.
IMO, one of the more funky left handed swings in MLB. Looks very upper body with not much turn/rotation from the hips on down to help generate power; yet, he can thump that seed.
Heartthrob Bob to the Angels. They could use a healthy corner infielder.
Or maybe Detroit. Maton looked a little shaky last time I saw him. Dalbec for Baez. Straight up.
Dalbec got way more playing time than his skillset showed he deserved. Go ahead and trade him for a bag of chips and a soda, because that’s likely all your going to get.
mlb fan – I have to laugh at the irony of your name!!! hahaha
Dalbec had two great half seasons but was never more than a placeholder after he was pushed off 3B by the Butcher of Boston. Despite your erroneous opinion Dalbec made significant contributions in 2 second halves during the last three seasons.
You completely ignored the facts in stating your biased opinion.
I don’t see how a .178/.313/.364 and 83 OPS+ guy can block anyone at first base. Casas’ MLB and Minor League stats are worse than Dalbec’s ever were. He slashes .186/.331/.381 with a 94 OPS+ in 194 PAs over his MLB career, with declining numbers.
Patience is one thing, which Casas certainly deserves, but to anoint him upcoming star or franchise player, as so many “experts” have done, seems to be greatly premature.
Speaking of self-proclaimed experts: the only explanation for the continued Casas hype at this point lies in their fear as well as arrogance to be proven wrong and being exposed as the self-crowned couch luminaries they are.
I thought it was weird, that ESPN picked an unestablished rookie, Casas, to wear a microphone during last week’s Sunday Night Game.
My thoughts exactly. Here we’ve got a struggling rookie miked up, in the infield of all places, and Ravech pesters Casas with trivial coffee party chatter while there’s a baseball game going on. It was annoying to a point where I had to turn off the volume, as I usually do during ESPN broadcasts.
As I understand it, the final decision about media requests in regard to wearing microphones is made by the individual players. So, it’s comprehensible that Casas didn’t refuse an opportunity to promote himself. Keep in mind that he and his camp started rumors about a possible contract extension already back in Spring Training .
Wald – His tremendous power and unique personality are both part of his appeal.
But yeah, fans tend to overhype their prospects. Happens with every team.
Watching all these games very closely I see much better at bats from Casas in the last two or three weeks. He looked lost in April and quite frankly overwhelmed but his at bats and swing decisions have been much better in May. He is really starting to barrel a lot of balls and his K rate is under 20% so far in May but he just looks more confident at the plate. His underlying numbers in the month of May support the observations I have seen as well his Line drive rate is rate up, his ground ball rate is down and his exit velocity is up. This confirms what I have been seeing that he is taking much better at bats since the the beginning of May. In just the last few games he has hit some very hard balls that he hasn’t been rewarded for that hard contact. I like the direction he is going but it’s still early in the big feeling out process I think he will be fine.
As of a week ago:
Casas has had the second-biggest turnaround in quality of contact in MLB between April and May, and has the 6th best quality of contact in May overall.
twitter.com/redsoxstats/status/1658158661892550683…
So I think there is reason for hope regarding Casas.
Yet Casas hit only 1 for 14 (.071) with 2 BB in his last five games.
“Turnaround in quality of contact between April and May”. How about under a full moon or certain star constellations?
That’s what I meant in regard to esoteric blather and wannabe expertise by twisting tiny sample sizes. The propagators’ only problem is that their nonsense cuts both ways, like everything else.
You are way off in perceiving “continued Casas hype”. No one is hyping him here. Certainly not me. Just saying there is reason for hope. You also missed that the tweet I posted was from May 15th which is why I said “as of a week ago”. You say Casas deserves some patience. So we agree.
Wald – As someone who works with numbers, I see all the time how deceptive and manipulated they can be.
It’s easier to have the 2nd best turnaround when you were at rock bottom. If a guy went hitless over 2 weeks, then batted .250 over the next two weeks, does that mean he’s a decent hitter now because of the improvement?
waldfee4 hours ago
Yet Casas hit only 1 for 14 (.071) with 2 BB in his last five games.
That’s what I meant in regard to esoteric blather and wannabe expertise by twisting tiny sample sizes. The propagators’ only problem is that their nonsense cuts both ways, like everything else.
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So does that make you pro- or anti-small sample sizes. Because if you don’t like small sample sizes, then us 14 ABs, I would suggest that is the poster child for SSS.
FWIW, 1 HR every 14 ABs projects to 43 HRs. The 4/2 K/W projects to 171/85 per 600 ABs. Assuming a .300 BABIP, his projected OPS would be 1.073.
If one likes extrapolating small sample sizes.
Not that you’re entirely wrong but I’ve heard that unctuous mantra about Casas since he entered the minors. And so far all these esoteric consecrations bore very little actual results.
Casas’ in MiLB:
1819 AB
.269/.374/.485
46 HR, 494 TB
Dalbec in MiLB:
1516 AB
.263/.363/.510
90 HR, 773 TB
Casas in MLB:
184 AB
.186/.331/.381
11 HR, 94 OPS+
Dalbec in MLB 2020:
80 AB
.263/.359/.600
8 HR, 149 OPS+
Dalbec in MLB 2021:
417 AB
.240/.298/.494
25 HR, 107 OPS+
Yet, Dalbec was always doubted, based on his strikeout rate, while Casas’ pedestrian career numbers have continuously been shrouded in vapid bloviation, such as him “looking good at the plate” or his outs now being hit so-and-so and with better contact… bla bla bla.
Unlike figure skating, synchronized swimming or rhythmic gymnastics, the sport of baseball relies on cold hard stats instead of beauty judging. And so far Casas has a long way ahead of him in order to prove that he’s a MLB level player.
waldfee –
Not that you’re entirely wrong but I’ve heard that unctuous mantra about Casas since he entered the minors. And so far all these esoteric consecrations bore very little actual results.
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Give to the fellow 400 AB in MLB we will draw conclusion then.
Did Dalbec get a long leash in 2021 ( fought 4 months a bit exceeding the line of Mendoza ) so why doesn’t Casas deserve the same?
waldfee – Outstanding commentary. A fan not a troll. How refreshing.
Casas deserves his shot but when the guy is backed by his organization by having him represented on the top prospects list, you know is the guy the organization backs. That’s why unlike Dalbec he’ll get plenty of time to prove himself just like Devers who got called up too early but got playing time despite his huge defensive handicap.
Since the Red Sox and the Yankees are trading buddies now how about a Dalbec for Florial swap?
I’d rather the sox went with a pitcher but not a bad idea
Jarren Duran has been in the same boat for three years, now ,with patience, he could be another Mookie. B. Some players need more time than others. Maybe it’s the bright lights, who knows. He hit two shots this weekend–one was 515 Ft to Left at Polar Field.. The other was near 450. Those kids are not cast-offs. He pitched in college in addition to SS, 3 B. He has been playing some OF. He’s not your typical 4 A that comes and go’s.
Be patient.
Mac – Great comparison. Mookie was not the darling of the organization Swihart was but he fought his way into the line-up much like Duran is doing now.
I just wanted to say; whomever KD17 is I completely agree 100% with your comments on Bobby Dalbec.. He has not been treated fairly by the Boston Red Sox organization. I also hope he does get traded so he can go some where and be an everyday player. I have been a Red Sox fan my whole life but now it is much different.
The Red Sox used to care about their players but not now. The problem is with the owners that allow Cora and Bloom to destroy this team. The players have lost confidence in Cora. The lineup changes daily. Players have no idea when they will be in the daily lineup. The worst part is when a player has a good day or days at bat, Cora gives him a day or two off. taking them out of their hot streak. He uses pitchers even when they are struggling, who could really use an extra day off. Cora’s decisions loose between 10 to 20 games a year. Cora and Bloom have to go. Stop blaming the players for all the coaches that can never help their own players such as pitching and hitting coaches. It is exactly what Big Papi said: “The Red Sox will pay big money to get a new player; they just won’t pay to keep a great player”