(Salem Sox release) The Salem Red Sox have announced that third baseman Bobby Dalbec was dubbed the Carolina League’s 2018 Most Valuable Player and a Year-End All-Star. Dalbec, 23, is the first Salem player in the Red Sox era (2009-present) to win MVP honors.  He more than backed up those accolades, hitting a Red Sox-era record 26 homers, which was three more than any other Carolina Leaguer.

Over his final 35 games with Salem, Dalbec batted .323 with 12 homers, 37 RBI and a staggering 1.154 OPS. His July was tremendous, as he racked up 10 homers and 28 RBI in 26 games. Boston promoted Dalbec to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs on August 3. Dalbec finished 2018 atop the Carolina League in a number of categories, including homers (26), RBI (85), extra-base hits (55), slugging percentage (.573), and on-base plus slugging percentage, or OPS (.945).

(Christina Carillo photo)