With path clear at first, Dalbec hoping for a big sophomore year

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Red Sox slugger Bobby Dalbec looked poised to defend his 2021 Grapefruit League home run title when he belted a two-run shot over the replica Green Monster at JetBlue Park in his first at-bat of Spring Training on Thursday afternoon against the Twins.

In truth, Grapefruit League blasts -- as fun as they are for the fans to watch -- aren't high on Dalbec's priority list these days.

What satisfied him with this moonshot on a heater from Twins righty Cole Sands is that it felt like a reward for his offseason work.

"I'm more happy with how my timing was today than the result, because I worked on that all offseason, on my timing and vision," Dalbec said. "It's nice to see it come to fruition, first at-bat."

Quite frankly, Dalbec admits that this home run in Boston's 14-1 victory would not have happened last spring, or even in the first few months of the regular season.

"That guy was throwing hard today and I don't think last year being in Spring Training I would have caught up to 95 [mph], and I wasn't catching up to it in the first half of last year either," Dalbec said. "That's what I'm super pumped about. My timing and all that stuff translated into the first at-bat. It's just remembering to do it every day and being consistent with it is the key for me."

This is a big year for Dalbec. At 26 years old and entering his second season, he is trying to prove to the Red Sox he has what it takes to play every day at first base.

That was the general plan when last season started, but there were severe struggles early that cut into Dalbec's playing time against righties.

"I think I was more worried about my mechanics [early] last year than being on time and seeing the ball," Dalbec said. "That's just how it goes. When you're late, you're not going to have a good swing. I was trying to have a good swing while being late, and that's just not something that's easy to do. Being early is just the way to go for me."

Last year took a lot of different turns for Dalbec.

Even when he established himself with a power barrage that made him the American League's Rookie of the Month in August, he got lost in the shuffle a bit down the stretch and into the playoffs due to the log jam Kyle Schwarber created when he arrived via trade.

Of course, Schwarber, while he was still on the injured list, was the one who got Dalbec's bat going in the first place.

"Schwarber and I had that cage situation in Detroit, and he just kind of got me to isolate what's important and what's not important," Dalbec said. "That's what I took in the offseason to work on."

Schwarber is now reportedly joining the Phillies after agreeing to a four-year, $79 million deal the Red Sox didn't match. If Boston had kept the lefty slugger, Dalbec wouldn't have had as big an opening to play.

"Super pumped for him," Dalbec said. "He deserves that. Great teammate, great person and he helped me out a lot."

Though the Red Sox were, at least according to the rumor mill, involved in the Freddie Freeman sweepstakes, the perennial All-Star first baseman reportedly wound up with the Dodgers.

Though there's always a chance chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom could make another move before Opening Day, the path is open for Dalbec at first base.

First baseman Triston Casas, Boston's most advanced hitting prospect, appears likely to start the season at Triple-A Worcester.

Despite the less than appetizing walks (28) to strikeout ratio (156) in 453 plate appearances, it should also be noted that Dalbec did mash 25 home runs in 2021.

"I do believe there was a lot of stuff going on, and competition is always good, right?" said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "It seems like he found his groove when we traded for Kyle. It's part of this. Early in the season, I think he wasn't as aggressive on certain pitches in the zone, and, yeah, his power is to right-center.

"Like I always said, there were a lot of empty fly balls to right field. His fly balls go farther than others, but there were a lot of fly balls that way. In the second part of the season, he pulled the ball and he was more aggressive early in counts."

While Dalbec's power tool has always been his headliner, Cora was impressed by the improvements the natural third baseman made at first base in 2021. Schwarber also had something to do with that.

"Actually, having Kyle and having him try to learn the position, we did some different drills during the season that usually we don't do, and Bobby was part of it," said Cora. "He was actually helping Kyle to learn first base, and I bet he found a few things that he wasn't doing early in the season and he did well."

Dalbec can already play the corner infield spots proficiently, but he will try to diversify his profile by getting some work in the outfield this spring.

"I never really played outfield, to be honest," said Dalbec. "I feel like I'm athletic enough and if I get repetition, I can be a quality outfielder."

Despite Dalbec's big frame, Cora also looks at him as an option at second base.

"The second base thing is real. He worked hard last year," said Cora. "He was our second baseman in the last half-inning we played defense last year. We'll move him around. I think the more versatile [he can be], the better it is for him and his career. Although he's a good corner infielder, for us, it'll be great if he can play multiple positions."

And if Dalbec stays on time with his swing and uses his plus-plus power, he will find his way into the lineup more often than not.