Bobby Dalbec stood out as a positive in an otherwise tough end to the series in Texas for the Boston Red Sox in a 15-5 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday.
After rookie Triston Casas went on the injured list, Boston recalled Dalbec from Triple-A Worcester to fill in at first base.
The 28-year-old showed improvement defensively and led off the second inning with a 427-foot home run to center field to extend the Red Sox lead to 4-0 at the time. From that point on, Texas outscored Boston 15-1.
"Great, especially defensively at first," Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "He made some plays. Offensively, the power is there."
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Cora explained that like other young players on the Red Sox roster, Dalbec improved after battling the mental side of the sport.
"He's in a better place mentally," Cora explained. "He struck out a few times. It doesn't matter and he moved onto the next one. This is something we talked about with Triston and Jarren (Duran) with the mental side of it. He's been through struggles. He's been through struggles and he's in a better place. In this game, the great ones make outs seven out of 10 times. I do believe throughout the season, being down there the whole time, he understood (what to do) to get back to the big leagues."
Dalbec's future is unclear in the Red Sox organization, as a power-hitting corner infielder may not currently fit into roster plans. Nonetheless, Cora believes in the strides that Dalbec showed on Wednesday and will continue to get reps for the former fourth-round pick.
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"This is a good window for him to play," Cora said. "We're going to play him a lot. He's putting good swings and good at-bats. He's playing good defense and running the bases well. Bobby's a good player. It just happened that he struggled last year. He's still with us and he's part of what we're trying to accomplish."
Featured image via Jim Cowsert/USA TODAY Sports Images
