Boston Red Sox fans were left hoping for the best after star third baseman Alex Bregman left the team's game against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday afternoon with a leg injury. The team initially described that injury as "right quad tightness", while declining to provide any more detail or any sort of concrete timeline — vague enough to allow all of New England a sliver of optimism that this was more precautionary than anything.
Now, though, that optimism is just about out the window. NESN's Tom Caron reports that Bregman reported to the Red Sox clubhouse ahead of Saturday's doubleheader, only to leave soon after in order to get an MRI on his injured quad. Manager Alex Cora provided some more ominous details, saying that the two-time All-Star woke up Saturday morning feeling worse than he did on Friday and that an IL stint could be in the cards.
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Alex Bregman seems destined for the IL after quad injury
It goes without saying that any sort of extended absence for Bregman would be a huge blow to a Boston lineup that already felt like it was teetering on the brink. He and Rafael Devers have been the twin engines of a Red Sox offense that has started springing leaks amid the injury to Triston Casas and continued struggles from Jarren Duran and Kristian Campbell. Nick Sogard is filling in at third base on Saturday afternoon, and suffice to say that that's a major downgrade.
The hope has to be that this is just a minor strain, one that Bregman can hopefully return from after a couple weeks of rest without requiring a rehab assignment. If it's something more, though, that could force the team to ask some tough questions. It seems like Devers is locked into the DH spot at this point; could top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer finally get the call, despite a relative lack of experience at the hot corner (just four starts there this season at Triple-A)? How long can a lineup without Bregman continue to keep this sketchy pitching staff afloat?
Of course, this would all feel much different had the team (and Devers himself) handled things differently dating all the way back to spring training. But that ship has clearly sailed; the last thing anyone wants is to reopen that can of worms just weeks after Casas' injury created a media firestorm. But no matter who takes his spot, the Red Sox are facing down a situation in which they simply don't have enough bullets in the chamber to keep hitting at a top-five level — and that spells trouble for their hopes of keeping pace with the New York Yankees in the AL East.