Red Sox's 'Significant' Alex Bregman Injury Update Darkens Mood In Boston

The Boston Red Sox were flying high for about 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon.

Just after the news broke that top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer was on the way to join the Red Sox for the second game of their doubleheader, red-hot designated hitter Rafael Devers hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning against the Baltimore Orioles, vaulting the Red Sox above .500 at 27-26.

The reason for Mayer coming up wasn't a good one, though. Star third baseman Alex Bregman, who was on track to start the All-Star game for the American League, was dealing with a right quad injury that seemed destined to send him to the injured list.

Minutes after the Red Sox's celebration ended on the diamond at Fenway Park, manager Alex Cora issued an injury update on Bregman. And it wasn't a pretty one.

According to Christopher Smith of MassLive, Cora said Bregman is dealing with a "significant" quad strain, similar to the one that made him miss two months of action back in 2021. Bregman had an MRI this morning after feeling more pain than he expected when he woke up.

Bregman, 31, was slashing .299/.385/.553 in 51 games, accumulating a team-high 3.0 bWAR. There's no telling where they'd be without him to this point, and it's going to take a major effort from a lot of different people to make up for the lack of production in his absence.

There's also the matter of Bregman's opt-out to consider. He looked like a lock to turn down his $40 million salary in 2026 and hit free agency for the second offseason in a row. But depending on how much time he misses, and how he looks when he returns, that calculus could change.

For now, the Red Sox say Mayer will play "all over the infield," according to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. He'll be a part of the plan at third base, it seems, along with Nick Sogard and possibly Romy González when he gets back from a rehab stint.

The Bregman news certainly tampers some of the initial excitement regarding Mayer's arrival. But the 22-year-old still has the chance to give this Boston team a shot in the arm, beginning with game two of the doubleheader at 6:35 p.m.