Robert Vernon Dalbec (born June 29, 1995), nicknamed Mr. Worcester, is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

in the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2020. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. Listed at and , he bats and throws right-handed.

Amateur career

Dalbec attended Legend High School in

Parker, Colorado Parker is a home rule municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. As a self-declared "town" under the home rule statutes, Parker is the second most populous town in the county; Castle Rock is the most populous (the community of Hig ...

, where he played for the school's baseball team as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. 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

. He enrolled as a general studies major. Dalbec enrolled at Arizona to play

for the

as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, and

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. In his freshman year, he participated in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

home run derby The Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting competition in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. In the context ...

. After his freshman season in 2014, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

(CCBL), and participated in the league's All Star Home Run Hitting contest. As a sophomore, Dalbec hit .319/.410/.601 with 15

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s 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 The 2016 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, June 3, 2016, as part of the 2016 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64-team, double-elimination tournament concluded with the 2016 College World Series (CWS) in Omaha, Nebraska, s ...

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

Minor leagues

The

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 A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, and made his professional debut with the Low–A

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major Leagu ...

, where he spent the whole season, posting a .386/.427/.674

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

with seven home runs and 33 RBI in 34 games. Dalbec spent 2017 with the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

of the Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, 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 The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

after returning from a wrist injury. In 2018, Dalbec started season with the

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...

of the High–A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. 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 The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

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 The Carolina League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Carolina League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. League broadcasters, Minor League ...

. After the regular season, he played for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was establi ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

. In 2019, Dalbec began the season with Portland, and was promoted to the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

of the Triple–A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

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 The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

in the

2019 WBSC Premier 12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship w ...

. 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 A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. He was optioned to Pawtucket on March 8, 2020. On July 7, the team announced that he had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

; he remained asymptomatic. On August 30, Dalbec was added to Boston's active roster following the trade of

Mitch Moreland Mitchell Austin Moreland (born September 6, 1985), nicknamed "2-Bags", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, San Diego ...

. Dalbec made his MLB debut that day, against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

; his first major league hit was a third-inning home run off of Javy Guerra, coming in his second major league

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn 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 ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' as the Red Sox' number three prospect. The Red Sox named Dalbec their starting first baseman for

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

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 The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and ...

. 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 Franchy Cordero Vargas (born September 2, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, K ...

at first base in May, then acquired first baseman

Eric Hosmer Eric John Hosmer (born October 24, 1989) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs. Internationally, 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 Trevor John Story (born November 15, 1992) is an American professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies. Story made his MLB de ...

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 The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. Th ...

, 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 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 Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

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

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

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.

Milwaukee Brewers

On May 10, 2025, Dalbec signed a minor league contract with the

Personal life

Dalbec grew up in

, and was a fan of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, and

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

. He is interested in the music industry and is able to play the

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

References

External links

* *
Scouting report
from

SoxProspects SoxProspects is a website dedicated to covering the minor-league system of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). History SoxProspects.com was launched on September 20, 2003, by Mike Andrews. The website was originally designed to ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalbec, Bobby 1995 births Living people Arizona Wildcats baseball players Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Colorado Baseball players from Seattle Boston Red Sox players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Mesa Solar Sox players Nashville Sounds players Orleans Firebirds players Pawtucket Red Sox players Sportspeople from Parker, Colorado Portland Sea Dogs players Salem Red Sox players Worcester Red Sox players United States national baseball team players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players

Amateur career

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

Minor leagues

Major Leagues

Chicago White Sox

Milwaukee Brewers

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links