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All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman set for return to Red Sox lineup this weekend against Rays

The Boston Red Sox are riding a seven-game win streak before the All-Star break, and one of their three players picked for this year's midsummer classic is set to return to the lineup this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays.

All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman will "play this weekend," according to manager Alex Cora, who spoke to reporters after Bregman went through a full workout before Boston's 4-3, series-opening win over the Rays.

Bregman has been out since suffering a strained right quad on May 23. He didn't make an appearance in Thursday night's game, but Cora said that the 30-year-old will play two of the games in the four-game series, per MLB.com.

In other words, between now and Sunday Bregman will place twice versus the Rays.

"He's in a great place, and we're going to trust the player," Cora told reporters, via ESPN. "... My biggest concern is the defensive part of it: The nine innings out there, going into the dugout, going back and forth, the popup down the line, the bunts and all that, but he has checked almost every box."

Bregman hasn't made a minor league appearance while working his way back to action for the Red Sox.

"... You gain, I don't know, five, six or seven at-bats [in a rehab assignment], so why not get them here?" Cora said.

Before his injury, Bregman was slashing .299/.385/.553 with 11 home runs, 17 doubles and 35 RBI. His .299 batting average is the highest of his career.

Even though he's played only 51 games this season, he still earned a spot on the AL All-Star team, along with Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet and and reliever Aroldis Chapman. Bregman, however, will not play in Tuesday's All-Star game at Atlanta's Truist Park.

Bregman previously made two All-Star teams with the Houston Astros, first in 2018 and then in 2019. He won two World Series titles in his nine seasons with the Astros.

Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million deal with the Red Sox this offseason.

Boston entered Friday fourth in the AL East standings with a 50-45 record, five games back of the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.

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