Since July 21, Red Sox first baseman Bobby Dalbec is batting .288 with four homers and 16 RBI in 21 games. AP Photo/Elise Amendola
Kyle Schwarber may not have to play much first base after all.
The slugger, acquired by the Red Sox before the trade deadline, made his Boston debut at Fenway Park over the weekend. He played in two of the three games against the Orioles, drawing a pair of walks on Friday and stinging two doubles on Sunday. He was the designated hitter in both games, with J.D. Martinez sitting out Friday and playing left field on Sunday.
The Red Sox added Schwarber for his bat. He was on his way to an All-Star Game appearance before he suffered a hamstring injury with Washington. The belief was he could try his hand at first base, a position he hasn’t played at the major league level.
The need was obvious: the Red Sox have the second-lowest on-base percentage from the position in the American League. In a lineup that has scored more than 600 runs, first base has been a black hole.
Until recently. Quietly, Bobby Dalbec has begun to hit. Since July 21, Dalbec has hit .288 with a .957 OPS with four homers and 16 RBI in 21 games. He is emerging as the impact bat the Red Sox thought he would be when the season began.
While Chris Sale rightfully grabbed the headlines Saturday with his first big-league start in over two years, Dalbec quietly ensured it was a successful day for the Sox with a pair of home runs in the 16-2 win over Baltimore. The homers were the fifth and sixth extra-base hits for Dalbec in three games, a sign that he was coming to life.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Dalbec, who hit just .219 with a woeful .673 OPS in the first half of the season. Expected to be a Rookie of the Year contender, Dalbec instead has had to watch the team audition others at the position. Christian Arroyo had never played the position, and lasted all of three innings before injuring himself on a play. He’s still on the injured list with a hamstring pull.
Almost by default, Dalbec continued to play. And now he’s making a case to stay in the lineup more often down the stretch.
Travis Shaw will factor into that playing time. Shaw returns to Boston after the Red Sox claimed him off waivers from Milwaukee this weekend. He will be with the team in New York this week, and could be the long sought after left-handed hitting first baseman the Sox need to give Dalbec a break against tough righties along the way.
Dalbec has been saying all the right things, understanding he’s still a young player with (hopefully) his best years ahead of him.
“They put the lineup out there that they think is going to win ballgames,” Dalbec said before the arrival of Shaw. “If I’m in it, awesome. If I’m not, it’s all good. We’re trying to win games. It’s not about me.”
Dalbec isn’t just paying lip service to Manager Alex Cora’s lineup decision. The Red Sox love his makeup, and the character he has shown since arriving. It’s one of the reasons they never gave up on Dalbec, even as he struggled early in the season.
With Dalbec producing, Schwarber could now remain in the DH/outfield mix, rotating with Martinez, Hunter Renfroe and others. It would allow Cora to leave Kiké Hernández at second base, increasing the depth of the lineup with Schwarber in the outfield (or at DH).
To keep that bat in the lineup, without having Schwarber learn a new position on the fly, makes the Red Sox a better team. And it makes Schwarber’s transition to Boston a lot smoother.
“To get the first hit out of the way, the first two, I kind of get to relax now and it’s back to baseball,” Schwarber said Sunday. “(I’m) very excited to be here. What an opportunity to have, and what a great group of guys to be around.”
The Red Sox envisioned Schwarber’s power impacting this lineup over the final two months. They just may have envisioned it at a position he no longer has to fill.
Tom Caron is a studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on NESN and a Lewiston High School graduate.
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