Biography
Robert Vernon Dalbec (born June 29, 1995) is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox. He made his MLB debut in 2020. He played college baseball for the Arizona Wildcats of the University of Arizona. Listed at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 227 pounds (103 kg), he bats and throws right-handed.
Amateur career
Dalbec attended Legend High School in Parker, Colorado, where he played for the school's baseball team as a shortstop and a pitcher. He also played on the basketball team during two seasons. He was not selected in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft due to his strong commitment to attend the University of Arizona. He enrolled as a general studies major.
Dalbec enrolled at Arizona to play college baseball for the Arizona Wildcats as a third baseman, first baseman, and relief pitcher. In his freshman year, he participated in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's home run derby. After his freshman season in 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), and participated in the league's All Star Home Run Hitting contest. As a sophomore, Dalbec hit .319/.410/.601 with 15 home runs in 213 at bats. Following his sophomore season in 2015, he returned to the Orleans Firebirds, batted .284 with 14 home runs in 33 games, and was named to the CCBL 2015 All-League team. He struggled in his junior year, but began to improve his play later in the season, as the Wildcats qualified for the 2016 College World Series.
Professional career
Boston Red Sox
Minor leagues
The Boston Red Sox selected Dalbec in the fourth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. He signed with the Red Sox, receiving a $650,000 signing bonus, and made his professional debut with the Low–A Lowell Spinners, where he spent the whole season, posting a .386/.427/.674 slash line with seven home runs and 33 RBI in 34 games.
Dalbec spent 2017 with the Greenville Drive of the Single–A South Atlantic League, slashing .246/.345/.437 with 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 78 games as well as batting .259 in seven rehab games with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox after returning from a wrist injury.
In 2018, Dalbec started season with the Salem Red Sox of the High–A Carolina League. In 100 games with Salem, he slashed .256/.372/.573 while leading the league with 26 home runs and 85 RBI in 344 at–bats. Dalbec was promoted to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Double–A Eastern League on August 3. In September, Dalbec was named both Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the 2018 Minor League Awards announced by the Red Sox. He won the Carolina League Most Valuable Player Award. After the regular season, he played for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League.
In 2019, Dalbec began the season with Portland, and was promoted to the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Triple–A International League in early August. Overall during 2019, he slashed .239/.356/.460 with 27 home runs and 73 RBI in 135 games. After the 2019 season, Dalbec represented the United States national baseball team in the 2019 WBSC Premier 12. He was named the best first baseman in the tournament.
Major Leagues
On November 20, 2019, the Red Sox added Dalbec to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He was optioned to Pawtucket on March 8, 2020. On July 7, the team announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19; he remained asymptomatic. On August 30, Dalbec was added to Boston's active roster following the trade of Mitch Moreland. Dalbec made his MLB debut that day, against the Washington Nationals; his first major league hit was a third-inning home run off of Javy Guerra, coming in his second major league at bat. Through his first 10 major league games, Dalbec hit six home runs, including five straight games with a home run. During the shortened 2020 Red Sox season, Dalbec batted .263 with eight home runs and 16 RBI in 23 games. Following the 2020 season, Dalbec was ranked by Baseball America as the Red Sox' number three prospect.
The Red Sox named Dalbec their starting first baseman for Opening Day in 2021. On July 29, he became the tallest player ever to make an appearance at shortstop for the Red Sox. During August, he batted .339 with seven home runs and 21 RBI, and was named the AL Rookie of the Month. For the regular season, Dalbec played in 133 games for Boston, batting .240 with 25 home runs and 78 RBI. He appeared in eight postseason games, batting 0-for-12 as the Red Sox advanced to the American League Championship Series.
Dalbec began 2022 as Boston's primary first baseman. Following a lack of offensive consistency at the position, the team began using outfielder Franchy Cordero at first base in May, then acquired first baseman Eric Hosmer at the trade deadline in early August. On September 4, with a .211 batting average for the season, the team optioned Dalbec to Triple-A to clear roster space for call-up Triston Casas. Dalbec was recalled to Boston on September 22, when Trevor Story was placed on the injured list. For the season, Dalbec batted .215 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI in 117 games for Boston. In 13 games with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, he batted .250 with five home runs and eight RBI.
In 2023, the Red Sox optioned Dalbec to Worcester for Opening Day. He was recalled to Boston for a week in April, and a week in May. Through his first 40 games with Worcester, he was batting .310 with 14 home runs and 35 RBI. Dalbec was again recalled to Boston for less than a week in the second half of June. In mid-September, Dalbec was recalled by Boston due to an injury to Casas.
Dalbec made Boston's Opening Day roster to begin the 2024 season. After appearing in six games (three starts), he was optioned to Worcester on April 9. Dalbec was recalled to Boston on April 12; in his first 32 big league at–bats of the season, he had one hit and 18 strikeouts. Dalbec was again optioned on May 3 and recalled on June 2. On June 8, he hit his first major league home run of the season, and first since September 20, 2023. Dalbec was optioned to Worcester a third time on June 22. In 37 games for the Red Sox, he slashed .133/.217/.193 with one home run, eight RBI, and three stolen bases. Dalbec was designated for assignment by Boston on September 8, removing him from the 40-man roster; he was sent outright to Worcester two days later. Dalbec elected free agency on November 2.
Chicago White Sox
On January 7, 2025, Dalbec signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. He was assigned to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights to begin the year, and hit .326 with four home runs and 13 RBI in his first 12 games. On April 21, the White Sox selected Dalbec's contract, adding him to their active roster. In seven games for Chicago, he went 4-for-18 (.222) with one RBI and three walks. Dalbec was designated for assignment by the White Sox on May 4. He cleared waivers and elected free agency on May 6.
Personal life
Dalbec grew up in Parker, Colorado, and was a fan of the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks, and Oklahoma City Thunder. He is interested in the music industry and is able to play the guitar and piano.