Dearden begins his first season with the Ducks and seventh in professional baseball. The outfielder spent the first six seasons of his professional career in the Boston Red Sox organization. He reached as high as Triple-A Worcester during the 2023 season. In 399 career games, he compiled a .353 on-base percentage and a .778 OPS along with 49 home runs, 228 RBIs, 204 runs, 356 hits, 72 doubles, five triples and 179 walks. His best season came in 2021 with High-A Greenville when he led the High-A East in home runs (24), RBIs (80) and walks (55) while ranking third in runs (73) and fourth in OPS (.891). For his efforts, the New Jersey native was named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star and a High-A East Post-Season All-Star.
The 25-year-old spent the majority of the 2023 season with Double-A Portland before he was called up to Triple-A Worcester. In 71 games with Portland, he batted .270 with seven homers, 41 RBIs, 34 runs, 67 hits, 12 doubles, one triple and a .361 on-base percentage. He came out of the gate strong, posting a .317 batting average and an .819 OPS in April. The outfielder was previously named a New York-Penn League Mid-Season All-Star in 2018, hitting .306 that season with four homers, 23 RBIs, 30 runs, 52 hits, 12 doubles, one triple and a .364 on-base percentage. Dearden was originally selected by the Red Sox in the 29th round of the 2017 amateur draft.
