Red Sox 1B: Bobby Dalbec
So the first player on my list is none other than Bobby Dalbec. To some, this may seem like an odd choice but in my eyes, it could be the perfect Chaim Bloom move. Moving Dalbec hinges on two pieces to the puzzle falling into place, the re-signing of Kyle Schwarber and the progression of Triston Casas. Those two points linking up will most likely spell the end of Bob’s time in Boston.
I just want to say that I’m a big Bobby D fan and the young Red Sox infielder has given us some great moments so far in his career, but he can also be extremely frustrating to watch. When he’s in the field I rarely worry about his decision-making and defense. But when he gets into the batter’s box my blood pressure usually spikes.
Bob has light-tower power and can send a ball to the moon with the best of ’em, but he also loves swinging and missing a whole lot. In 2021, he posted a .240/.298/.494 line with 25 bombs and 78 RBI, pretty damn good stuff.
When you take a look at some of the advanced numbers though things don’t look as pretty. Dalbec struck out 34.4% of the time while walking just 6.2% of his at-bats. That breaks down to a 156/28 K/BB ratio in 453 plate appearances.
The first baseman won’t hit arbitration until 2024 and free agency until 2027. A young slugger with good defense and lots of team control would be the perfect trade piece for a guy like Chaim. As much as I’d love to keep Bobby here, I trust Schwarber a lot more and believe Casas is a franchise player.