Triston Casas is the future 1b. His arrival is estimated midway through the 2022 season. You don't want him blocked. Not only can he mash, he's an above-average fielder at 1b. Not a Keith Hernandez-level fielder, but above average. That will help the rest of the IF defense a LOT.
The Sox need a bridge at 1b until he arrives. Let's say it's delayed til 2023. That means they need a useful 1b for all of 2022. Can Dalbec be that guy?
In Dalbec's 131 major league games, he's put up this line:
456 pa, 416 ab, 19 2b, 26 hr, 77 rbi, .243/.307/.495/.802, 110 ops+
Over 162 games, that projects to 32 homers and 95 rbi. Batting at the end of the lineup. Yes he strikes out a TON. But that's a guy who you can live with at the back end of the order. He'll make a lot of outs, but he'll mash the ball a ton too. At virtually no cost, he's perfectly fine. HOWEVER...he needs to become a MUCH better fielder, because his lack of fielding has contributed to a lot of the errors. A good fielding 1b makes everyone else in the IF a lot better. He's not helping the other guys out right now and it's painful to watch. It's not all on him, of course, as a bad throw is a bad throw. But good fielding first basemen rescue their infield teammates, which also helps the pitching considerably.
But Dalbec has shown me that he POSSIBLY can be the bridge to Casas. And then when Casas is ready...Dalbec can be dealt, just like what the Rays do every year - trade useful players and get useful prospects in return.
You keep Devers at 3b and because his bat is so good, you live with his flaws in the field. A good 1b will help him. And you keep X at short because that's really the best spot for him. No, he's not an elite-fielding shortstop, but again, you live with it because of his awesome bat. Get a good fielding 2b to bolster the IF defense.
In the OF, you can't keep putting JD or Schwarber out there. You need Verdugo and Renfroe in the OF - those are the two best-fielding OF on the team. This OF defense should give us a renewed appreciation for the OF defense the Sox had in 2018 with Benintendi in left, JBJ in center, and Betts in right. It just doesn't get much better than that. The Sox are light years from that kind of OF defense.
And also....they need defensive improvement at C. Vazquez...just makes too many mistakes back there. It's not fun to watch.