Inside The Red Sox

End Could Be Near For Ex-Red Sox Fan Favorite After White Sox DFA

It's not easy making it in the show...
Jackson Roberts|
Jul 14, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Chicago White Sox hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the fourth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Jul 14, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Chicago White Sox hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the fourth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Major League Baseball is a very tough way to make a living, and one player who was infamous among Boston Red Sox fans has found that out the hard way over the past half-decade.

Bobby Dalbec was the Red Sox's fourth-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, and he found his way to the majors in 2020. He set the league on fire with eight home runs during a 23-game stint that year, but everything went south from there.

Dalbec was a serviceable starter at first base for the Red Sox in 2021. But from 2022 to 2024, he developed a pattern of racking up strikeouts in the big leagues and pummeling home runs whenever he was demoted to Triple-A, where he spent more and more time every year.

Dalbec became a free agent over the winter and signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. It was a textbook "last chance" opportunity, and that opportunity has already met several roadblocks, including his worst one yet on Sunday.

The White Sox made a flurry of roster moves on Sunday, and they designated Dalbec for assignment to make room on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters. He had appeared in seven games for Chicago, going 4-for-18 with a double and six strikeouts.

If Dalbec goes unclaimed on waivers, he could simply head back to Triple-A Charlotte, where he was before the White Sox called him up in mid-April. But there are only so many chances an unproven 30-year-old will typically get before his organization decides it's time for new blood.

Classifying Dalbec as a "fan favorite" in Boston has certain caveats. There was a segment of Red Sox Nation who sighed every time he stepped into the batter's box at Fenway Park. But the home run potential tantalized others, and Dalbec's personality was so likable that he won them over.

Now, Dalbec is in danger of becoming a man without a fan base.

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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