Of course, Bobby Dalbec’s call to come back to the majors would happen in the most Boston way possible.
The former Red Sox top prospect and infielder returned to Fenway Park on Monday, his contract selected by the Chicago White Sox because fellow former Red Sox Chase Meidroth went on the 10-day injured list with right thumb inflammation.
“Definitely surreal, for sure,” Dalbec said as he stood in the visitors’ dugout, looking out at the field he called home for parts of the last five seasons.
It was a quick turnaround for Dalbec, whose flight was delayed; he landed in Boston around 1 AM. Even more so because the White Sox called him up for Marathon Monday. On perhaps the most quintessentially Boston day on the calendar, the Red Sox play their special 11:10 a.m. game.
“It’s a special day for this city, obviously, every year,” he said. “It’ll be cool for guys who haven’t experienced a marathon day on this side to see what it’s all about.”
Dalbec’s last few years in the Red Sox organization were difficult. He and Rafael Devers played together in the minor leagues, and by the time Dalbec got his first big-league call up at the end of 2020, Devers had already cemented himself at third base. Dalbec took ownership of first base in ‘21, only to lose the job to Triston Casas when he came up in September ‘22. The Red Sox tried unsuccessfully to find a place for Dalbec by playing him at second and in the outfield.
Last year, at what was ultimately his final Red Sox spring training, Dalbec told the Herald he was surprised he was still with the organization.
“Not necessarily surprised,” he amended on Monday, “just didn’t know what the deal was or what they wanted my role to be, and all that stuff.
“But looking back on it now, I wish I didn’t think about that stuff as much as I did because it’s all about playing and being ready for the game, and trying to eliminate those things out of my mind, which I was not very good at the last couple years.”
After becoming a free agent last fall, Dalbec signed a minor league contract with the White Sox, reuniting him with former Red Sox teammate Andrew Benintendi, who’s signed to the largest free-agent contract in the Chicago organization’s history. The two became close during Dalbec’s first big-league spring training in 2018, and shared a Fenway suite when Dalbec got called up for his 2020 debut. (The Red Sox had to turn the ballpark’s suites into two-person locker rooms to adhere to the league’s pandemic safety protocols.)
“Before I signed (with the White Sox), I texted him and just kind of got a rundown,” Dalbec said. “Obviously I’d love to play with him, because we never really got to play in the major leagues together, because I think he was hurt that year when I debuted, and then he was gone after that.”
Alex Cora, who managed Dalbec for the last four of his five years in Boston, thinks his former infielder has more in the tank.
“Bobby is a good guy and he works hard. I think sometimes the work that he put in the cage didn’t transform in the batter’s box,” Cora said. “Defensively he’s great. He’s great at first, he’s great at third base, you can put him anywhere and he’ll make the plays. But offensively, he knows it and everybody knows it: there’s more. There’s more. Approach-wise, we tried to do our best to push him there, but he never transformed.”
Dalbec agreed with his former manager’s assessment.
“Absolutely. Yeah, I never really felt I’ve shown my true capability,” he said. “I know I’ve talked about it before, but never really figured it out, so I’m done trying to figure it out. Just get better, remember to do what makes me good, and try to find ways to help the team win.”
Even though it didn’t turn out the way he hoped, Dalbec said he looked back on his time in Boston fondly.
“All the good (memories) outweigh the bad ones for sure,” he said. “There’s no hard feelings or any of that stuff. I love everybody here and wish them all the best.”