Bobby Dalbec Sucks, He’s Never Going To Not Suck
Can we be done with the Bobby Dalbec thing? You know it’s bad when Franchy Cordero is far and away the better alternative. That Cordero post is coming, don’t worry, it’s on my to-do list. To Franchy’s credit, unlike before, he’s actually showing serious upside but that’s a story for another day.
Back to Dalbec, I’m just so done with it. I couldn’t be more out. Sure, once upon a time it was acceptable to become excited about the potential power Dalbec could bring to the table. However, we all know the answer to the question now. Dalbec is just another Joey Gallo, not Aaron Judge.
The bottom line is with Dalbec the swing and miss stuff is never going to go away and it’s only getting more egregious. You can’t have guys like that in your lineup. Dalbec’s K rate has dipped in three consecutive seasons. However, the same is true for his home run rate.
Dalbec, 27, is still punching out 30% of the time. You can’t have him in the lineup. Thus far in 2022, Dalbec is hitting a homer in 2.2% of his at-bats. If I’m getting the strike outs, I at least need to power stroke to come with it. It’s now or never for Dalbec and the smart people already know the answer. It’s never.
We don’t need to see anymore. Dalbec is a -0.6 WAR player right now. Chaim Bloom and the rest of the front office is basically acknowledging Dalbec is hurting the team and they refuse to do anything about it. When is enough, enough? The OPS+ sits at 69 and that sure as hell isn’t NICE. The eyeball test doesn’t do him any favors.
It doesn’t get worse than this. The sad part is he might be worse defensively and that’s saying something. Nobody is saying hitting a baseball is easy but the bottom line is Dalbec belongs in AA and should never see the light of day on a big league roster again until further notice.
We’re delaying the inevitable. Sure, on the rare occasion Dalbec hits the ball, it’s usually hit hard. It just also never happens. This Red Sox team is too good to intentionally blow it at first base because the fear of giving up on a potential power bat. Let someone else deal with this issue. Trust me, Texas doesn’t regret dealing Gallo. It’s time to do the same with Dalbec if he even has any value.
The Red Sox miss Kyle Schwarber and until they find another bat to replace that production at first base, it’s hard to see the Sox winning the World Series this year. Maybe that guy is Casas. Regardless, every day that Dalbec is on the roster is another wasted opportunity to find the right solution for the position.
