Former White Sox outcast is emerging as this year’s Yuli Gurriel for the Royals

The Kansas City Royals are in the midst of a tightly contested uphill battle for the postseason and need all the help they can get.

While there are currently numerous names currently on the active roster that could be seen as holding the Royals back amid their playoff push, there are multiple names in Triple-A Omaha that could easily be solutions in a post-deadline season where finding solutions can be a little trickier than in the first-half of the year.

The most notably glaring names among the solution candidates is none other than the recently signed Bobby Dalbec, who’s come a long way since he was designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox earlier this season.

He’s wasted no time entering Kansas City’s organizational fold in Triple-A Omaha and producing in a huge way, making him an intriguing and more than deserving option to receive another shot in the majors down the stretch.

If he does reach the big leagues with the Royals before the clock strikes midnight on the 2025 season, he could bare a similar impact that one of the Royals notable post-trade deadline additions made in the 2024 season’s final month in Yuli Gurriel.

Bobby Dalbec is emerging as this year’s Yuli Gurriel for the Royals

While Gurriel’s arrival in Kansas City last season may not have been the same logistically as Dalbec’s was this season, they still bare plenty of similarities in their production before getting the call to the big leagues.

The Royals acquired Gurriel via an August trade with the Atlanta Braves – which was still possible after the trade deadline as the then 40-year-old had not spent time on a team’s 40-man roster at any point before joining the Royals – after looking excellent in Triple-A Gwinnett.

In 333 Triple-A plate apperaances across 75 games in 2024, Gurriel slashed .292/.378/.485 with 12 home runs, 48 RBI, an 11.7% walk rate, a 14.7% strikeout rate and a 129 wRC+.

He would immediately come in and fill the major league void that Vinnie Pasquantino’s unfortunate late August broken thumb that first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino left them with.

Now, fast forward around a year later, and the Royals find themselves with a recently acquired corner infielder who’s been on a tear in the minor leagues in 2025.

After being DFA’d following a brief an uninspiring seven-game, 80 wRC+ stint in the majors with the White Sox, Dalbec signed a minor league deal with the Brewers days after his release.

In his time with Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate in Nashville, the former Boston Red Sox prized farmhand looked great. In 264 plate appearances across 61 games, Dalbec slashed .266/.356/.498 with 12 homers, 44 RBI and a 126 wRC+.

The Brewers granted his release in order for him to find a situation better suited for him to potentially get a return to the majors and that led him to Kansas City.

And since joining the Royals, he’s looked every bit the part of a player worthy of a late-season call-up to stregthen this squad’s depth.

In his first 12 games in Omaha, Dalbec has slugged six homers, driven in 12, and posted a staggeringly high .924 OPS. This brings his three-team Triple-A stats in 2025 up to a .265/.350/.542 slash line with 22 home runs and 69 RBI.

For a team that’s been largely starving for power a majority of the season and is currently in need of some offensive upgrades in the utility department, Dalbec and his power and ability to play first, second and third base with some experience in the corner outfield as well – paired with the fact he has a solid amount of major league experience under his belt – make him a prime option to nab one Kansas City’s two vacant 40-man roster spots.

While this would be similar to how Gurriel stepped in and filled a vital role in 2024, he’ll look to better Gurriel’s 84 regular season wRC+ he posted after arriving.