The Kansas City Royals signed first baseman Bobby Dalbec to a minor league contract, Raising Royals — the team's official player development account — reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Dalbec spent the first portion of his career with the Boston Red Sox. In 2024, the Red Sox designated Dalbec for assignment. He would later join the Chicago White Sox. However, Dalbec elected free agency after the White Sox also designated him for assignment.
Dalbec landed with the Milwaukee Brewers in May of 2025 but was ultimately released from the minor league team in early August. The first baseman once displayed signs of promise, though, and the Royals are set to take a chance on him.
In 2021, Dalbec crushed 25 home runs in Boston with the Red Sox. He recorded a .792 OPS across 123 games played. The right-handed slugger was seemingly on the verge of establishing himself as a star.
Dalbec was limited to 117 games played in 2022 and finished the year with a lackluster .692 OPS. He hasn't been able to replicate his 2021 form, something that led Boston to move in a different direction in 2024. The 30-year-old features impressive power from the right side of the plate, however. The Royals are surely hoping that he can develop consistency while implementing his home run prowess.
Kansas City is currently 57-58 overall. The Royals are still in the postseason conversation, but it will require a big second half of the '25 campaign in order for them to make a playoff run. Dalbec is a player who could impact Kansas City's future, though.
As mentioned, the infielder landed a minor league contract. He will need to impress at the minor league level in order to catch the MLB team's attention. The Royals may end up giving him a chance in the big leagues as they look to see if he can play a role down the road.