Returning Red Sox All-Star will play two of last three games before break

Alex Bregman s return is imminent and Thursday afternoon Red Sox manager Alex Cora provided additional clarity on when exactly the All-Star third baseman could be activated Though Cora stopped short of announcing a specific return date the manager commented Bregman will play two of the gang s last three games before the All-Star break Related Articles Red Sox lineup Masataka Yoshida not in lineup for opener against Rays Red Sox complete sweep of Rockies - extend win streak to six Alex Bregman returning to Red Sox lineup before All-Star break MLB notes How NESN turned back the clock for acclaimed retro broadcast Red Sox erupt for seven runs in third inning blow out Nationals - He ll play this weekend Cora revealed He ll play two of the games That timetable would suggest Bregman could be activated as soon as Friday or as late as Saturday He will not need to go on a rehab assignment as a great number of players typically do to ease themselves back in after a lengthy injury and Cora reported he s done a great job preparing himself over the past minimal weeks My biggest concern is the defensive part of it going into the dugout going back and forth the popup down the line the bunts and all that but he s checked almost every box Cora reported He feels like he s in a great place and we re going to trust the athlete Prior to being placed on the -day injured list with a right quad strain on May Bregman was off to one of the best starts of his career He was batting with home runs RBI a OPS and wins above replacement numbers that still rank among the best in the AL among third basemen helping earn him his third career All-Star nod despite missing the last games entering Thursday Dobbins set to return In addition to Bregman Cora also mentioned right-hander Hunter Dobbins right elbow strain will likely return this weekend maybe on Friday The Red Sox do not at the moment have a starter revealed for that day making Dobbins the logical candidate Prior to being placed on the -day IL on June Dobbins had gone - with a ERA over his first career outings Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello are in line to start Boston s last two games against the Rays before the All-Star break Houck enjoys strong outing Tanner Houck right flexor pronator strain enjoyed his best rehab outing yet on Wednesday allowing one run over innings with three hits two walks and six strikeouts Cora disclosed he is recovering well and they ll see how he feels on Friday before making any decisions on the next moves but he also declined to commit to Houck returning to the rotation upon his activation We have to make decisions Cora explained