Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman, who has been sidelined since May 24 with a strained right quad, will “play this weekend,” manager Alex Cora said Thursday.
“He’s going to hit, take grounders, then we’ll decide what we do,” Cora told reporters after Bregman went through a full workout prior to Thursday’s game. “He’ll play this weekend.”
The Red Sox have three games remaining against the Tampa Bay Rays through Sunday, and Bregman could be activated as soon as Friday night without a minor league rehab assignment.
“He’s in a great place and we’re going to trust the player,” Cora told reporters. “… My biggest concern is the defensive part of it: the nine innings out there, going into the dugout, going back and forth, the popup down the line, the bunts and all that, but he has checked almost every box.
“… You gain, I don’t know, five, six or seven at-bats [in a rehab assignment], so why not get them here?”
Bregman, who signed a three-year, $120 million deal with the Red Sox this offseason, was hitting .299 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs before the injury. He was selected to his third All-Star team as a reserve, but he will not play in Tuesday’s game in Atlanta.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.