BOSTON -- Alex Bregman doesn’t want to get ahead of himself. But at the same time, he had a hard time containing his excitement as he spoke about his latest day of rehab prior to Monday’s game against the Reds.
At the outset of this homestand, Bregman -- who suffered a right quad strain on May 23 -- added baseball activities to running. Each day, he’s been able to add a little more.
“I feel really good. Today was the best that I've felt during the rehab process, the fastest I ran,” said Bregman. “Resumed full baseball activity. So this is a lot of weeks ahead of it, ahead of what we predicted. So we're kind of taking it day by day when it comes to that, because obviously you don't want to rush it too much, but we're very far ahead of where we thought we'd be at this point.
“And yeah, I ran the fastest I ran today. Resumed full activity -- hitting, defense, throwing and running straight and curved as well. So, we've got a lot of running on the agenda this week. So hopefully everything continues to go smoothly.”
Last week, Red Sox manager Alex Cora acknowledged that Bregman would most likely return after the All-Star break.
However, the third baseman didn’t want to set limits after the way he felt Monday.
After a one-city road trip to play the Nationals this weekend, is there any chance Bregman could return at any point during next week’s seven-game homestand that takes the Red Sox to the All-Star break?
“Possibly,” Bregman said. “We'll see. Today was really good, so we'll see what the group says. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, because today was the best it's been. But got to see how we come out of it tomorrow, everything like that. But [I] could be here soon. We'll see.”
Cora acknowledged in his pregame media availability that sometimes the training staff needs to slow Bregman down. That said, he was encouraged to see the progress his invaluable veteran is making.
“He feels great, but obviously we have to be smart about it,” Cora said. “But things are trending in the right direction. The way he's talking about it, he’s close to being 100 percent.”
Without Bregman’s bat, the Red Sox have been at far less than 100 percent offensively, particularly following the July 15 trade of Rafael Devers.
The return of Bregman and Masataka Yoshida (starting a Minor League rehab assignment on Tuesday) should provide the team with a significant boost as it tries to move up into the postseason standings.
A couple of weeks ago, Bregman implied he might even forego a rehab assignment. Is that still a possibility?
“I’m not sure yet, honestly, if it's gonna entail going on a rehab, or if it's gonna be kind of simulating the volume here and getting back to playing in big league games right away,” Bregman said. “So going to discuss that either today or here in the next few days as far as what the next steps look like, but I think all options are on the table, really, whether it's going on a rehab assignment or not going on one, and just going straight to playing up here and maybe kind of easing the way back in at this level. It's honestly whatever they want me to do, really.”
While the 41-44 Red Sox have played far below expectations to this point in the season, Bregman’s enthusiasm for Boston as a short and long-term fit hasn’t diminished.
Though his three-year contract include an opt-out following ‘25 and ‘26, agent Scott Boras told The Boston Globe that his client would be open to discussing an extension.
Bregman backed his agent on Monday.
“We're on the same page, Scott and I,” Bregman said. “Obviously open to listening to whatever the team has to say.”
But that isn’t Bregman’s focus at this point.
“Honestly, I'm focused on getting back on the field and trying to help this team win baseball games and getting back as soon as possible, as healthy as possible, and making a push to get into this race and get into the postseason,” said Bregman. “When I signed here in the first place, I believed this team is a team that can play playoff baseball, and I still believe that. I'm focused on getting back and contributing and helping this team do that.”