Ex-Red Sox Polarizing Slugger Bobby Dalbec Lands Contract With AL Rival

Bobby Dalbec's grand tour of Major League Baseball continues.

Since the Boston Red Sox designated him for assignment last summer, Dalbec's journey has been a long and winding one. He started the year in the Chicago White Sox organization, but found himself back on waivers after a very brief stint on the big-league roster. He then signed with the Milwaukee Brewers, but wound up opting out of his deal having never been recalled to the show.

Now, Dalbec officially has his third minor-league deal of the year, and it will be interesting to see if this one bears more fruit.

Bobby Dalbec signs deal with Kansas City Royals

On Friday, the Kansas City Royals announced, via their player development account on X, that they had signed Dalbec to a minor league deal. The 30-year-old will report to Triple-A Omaha.

Dalbec, the Red Sox's former fourth-round pick, has about the simplest scouting report one could draw up. He's got big-time power when he runs into one, but everywhere he's gone, the strikeouts have followed.

In parts of five seasons with the Red Sox (331 games), Dalbec slugged 47 home runs, including a career-high 25 in 2021. He also struck out a grand total of 390 times, and managed only a 91 OPS+.

Dalbec also popped 33 home runs in just 114 games for Triple-A Worcester in 2023. He managed 16 this season in 73 games split between the White Sox's and Brewers' Triple-A teams, respectively.

Perhaps the Royals will offer Dalbec an opportunity to crack the major league roster at some point, as their offense has been their weak point all year. His natural position is third base, but he's mostly played first base as a professional, and he's also experimented with the corner outfield.

At his most recent stop in Triple-A Nashville, Dalbec played 11 games at first base, 19 at third base, and 31 in right field. The Royals have the worst outfield production in the majors, though they shored it up at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of Randal Grichuk and Mike Yastrzemski.

Red Sox fans were divided on Dalbec at first, though it was hard to find anyone who wanted him to get another shot at a big-league roster spot by the time he was let go last year.

But there will always be those in Boston who root for Dalbec's success, and we'll soon see if the Kansas City organization is the place he can find it.