Red Sox designate Bobby Dalbec for assignment

Dalbec was hitting .133 this season for Boston.

The Red Sox designated Bobby Dalbec for assignment, the club announced Sunday morning.

Dalbec, 29, has played in 37 Major League games this season, making 14 starts at first base, seven at third, two in right, and one as the designated hitter.

His career average is .222, and this year, it plummeted to .133. Dalbec has hit .255 with 19 home runs and 64 RBIs with the Worcester Red Sox over 85 games this season.

The Red Sox selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft. He’s hit 47 home runs and recorded 142 RBIs in 331 games over five years with the Red Sox.

He showed promise early in his career, hitting .263 in a small sample size in 2020, then belting 25 home runs en route to 78 RBIs over 133 games in 2021. Since then, his production has decreased considerably.

Dalbec has struck out in 36.8 percent of his Major League plate appearances.

The Red Sox also optioned right-handed pitcher Chase Shugart to Worcester, and they added right-hander Richard Fitts to the Major League roster to start Sunday’s game.

Fitts, 24, has pitched in 24 games (23 starts) for Worcester this season, recording a 4.17 ERA with 111 strikeouts. In six starts since the beginning of August, he’s 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA, most recently tossing six scoreless innings at Rochester on Monday.