The drama may not be done in Boston just yet.
On Friday, in the Boston Red Sox’s first game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles, starting third baseman Alex Bregman was forced to exit in the fifth inning with what the team called right quad tightness.
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He left the game after awkwardly rounding first base on a single.
After the game — a 19-5 domination by the Red Sox — Bregman provided an update on his injury. He said the injury was considered day to day, and he hoped to avoid the injured list.
“Was rounding first base and like digging to go to second and I felt my quad grab,” Bregman said. “After I felt it I just knew I needed to come out and see the trainer.”
He added: “I feel like we’ll know a lot more tomorrow after sleeping and seeing what it presents in the morning.”
The Red Sox will have to see how Bregman feels on Saturday before making any decisions regarding him potentially going on the injured list. He isn’t going to be in the lineup for the second game of the doubleheader.
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If Bregman is forced to go on the IL, the Red Sox will be without their starting third baseman. It could also lead to even more positional drama regarding their superstar designated hitter Rafael Devers.
In spring training, after signing Bregman, the Red Sox asked Devers to move off of third base. He had no interest in accommodating for the newest Red Sox infielder.
“No,” Devers said in February. “I play third.”
“My position is third base,” he added. “Whatever it is they want to do is what they want to do. But my position is third base. It’s my position. I’m not just going to change on a whim like that. That’s my reaction currently.”
Devers ended up giving in, moving off of third to be the team’s full-time designated hitter. But the drama didn’t end there.
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After first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury, Devers appeared to be an option to take over at first base.
Wrong again.
“I don’t think, for me personally, it’s the best decision after they asked me to play a different position,” Devers said. “I know I’m a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can’t expect me to play every single position out there. In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove. I wasn’t going to play another position other than DH. Right now, I don’t think it would be an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.”
It would be difficult to imagine the Red Sox going back to Devers to move to third base for a part time gig. However, they would also need to find a way to cover third base if Bregman is forced to miss time.
For now, the Red Sox will hope Bregman wakes up feeling better on Saturday. If not, they could be in for some more awkward conversations.
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