Sept. 10: Dalbec went unclaimed on waivers and has been a signed outright to Triple-A Worcester, per a team announcement. Hell remain in the organization. Sept. 8: The Red Sox announced this morning that theyve selected the contract of right-hander , whose promotion was . The club designated infielder for a signment to make room for Fitts on the 40-man roster and optioned right-hander to Triple-A in order to clear space on the active roster. Dalbec, 29, was a fourth-round pick by the Red Sox in the 2016 draft who earned plenty of attention with a dominant debut during the shortened 2020 season. After being called up halfway through the 60-game campaign, he emerged as the clubs regular first baseman down the stretch and slashed a torrid .263/.359/.600 with an eye-popping eight home runs in just 92 trips to the plate. Though the Red Sox ultimately finished fifth in the AL East that year and no one expected Dalbec to continue slugging at a 63 homer pace in his first full season in 2021, there was nonethele s optimism regarding the then-25-year-olds future. While Dalbec didnt hit at the same otherworldly level he did during his first taste of big league action, his first full big league campaign in 2021 was a productive one nonethele s. In 453 trips to the plate acro s 133 games, Dalbec hit a respectable .240/.298/.400 with 25 home runs, 21 doubles, and 5 triples as Bostons primary first baseman. That strong power production helped to offset his ma sive 34.4% strikeout rate Tomas Tatar Jersey and make him an above average (106 wRC+) bat overall, but things took a turn for the worse for Dalbec when his power evaporated during the 2022 season. As his isolated slugging dropped nearly a hundred points year-over-year while his strikeout rate held fairly steady, his production cratered and he wound up slashing just .215/.283/.369 with a wRC+ 20% worse than league average in 117 games in 2022. That wound up being Dalbecs final opportunity as a regular with the Red Sox, as he spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons primarily in Triple-A as optionable infield depth. He hit quite well for Triple-A Worcester in both of those years, but his opportunities at the big league level were sparse and did not see him succeed. In a combined 146 trips to the major league plate over the past two years, Dalbec hit a ghastly .159/.234/.235 while striking out at a whopping 48.6% clip and slugging just two home runs. While Dalbec has increased his versatility these past two years, appearing at all four infield spots and right field in the major leagues, no amount of versatility was able to overcome that brutal production at the plate. With Dalbec set to be out of options and potentially arbitration-eligible headed into the 2025 campaign, its hardly a surprise that the Red Sox have decided to cut bait on the once-promising infielder. Should he go unclaimed on waivers, the Red Sox will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues for the remainder of the 2024 season, though Dalbec will have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency in search of a change of scenery at seasons end. Ethan Edwards Jersey