As has been the case with each and every speaking engagement he’s had this week, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told the media pregame on Thursday that All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman is getting very close to a return to action, and went as far as saying the two-time World Series champion would play in at least two of the four games this weekend at Fenway against the Rays.
While he wouldn’t specify which two games, he did say Bregman would be playing the field, and that they feel no hesitancy with the 31-year-old doing so without having made any rehab starts in Triple-A.
In Bregman’s absence since straining his right quad on May 23, rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer has been the man for Boston in the hot corner. And while he’s seen mixed results at the plate, he’s been a plus-defender for a team that has struggled in recent years with making routine plays.
With Mayer being such a sure-glove, Cora was asked pregame if he’d be moving the 22-year-old to second base once Bregman is ready to return.
“We’ll make decisions whenever Alex is back,” Cora said, with no further indication as to what the options might be for the rookie.
But in answering a follow-up question about Mayer’s positional flexibility, he may have given us a hint.
“We saw it in spring training, we knew that he could - he probably could play first, to be honest with you,” said Cora. “He’s that good defensively. He understands the game. He sees the game differently, and it’s real.
“You know, he came in to play defense two days ago and turned a double play. That ball to the right yesterday - one hop to first or two hops to first, that was impressive. He doesn’t panic, and that’s the part of the game that I’m really impressed with.”
Boston’s who-will-play-first-base saga has been ongoing since Triston Casas was lost for the season in early May after rupturing his left patellar tendon. When they asked their former-third-baseman-turned-designated-hitter if he’d take a stab at it, the now-Giant passed. And if you believe the reports coming out of San Francisco, he has continued passing on that opportunity.
In the wake of no Casas/lack of team mentality from Rafael Devers, it’s been first-base-by-committee for Boston. We’ve seen Romy Gonzalez, Abraham Toro and Kristian Campbell all get a turn, and we’ve seen Masataka Yoshida taking part in first base drills during pregame warmups.
And with Cora’s comments on Thursday, it appears Mayer could be next on the first base wheel.
“[He’s a] great defender,” Cora said pregame when asked for his overarching thoughts on Mayer’s time in the majors so far. “His internal clock is up there with the best of them. Offensively, he’s still learning. But he puts the ball in play, he understands what he needs to do, and little by little he’s feeling comfortable. But defensively, he’s a stud.”
The Red Sox will go for their seventh straight win on Thursday, and enter the game having won nine of their last 11 games. Walker Buehler (6-6, 6.25 ERA) will take the mound for Boston, with Taj Bradley (5-6, 4.79 ERA) on the bump for Tampa. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.
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