Alex Bregman will not be activated Thursday, ‘likely’ returning before All-Star break; Masataka Yoshida collects 3 hits in season debut; Red Sox hammer Rockies for series sweep

Alex Bregman is close to returning to the Red Sox lineup, but he’ll have to wait at least one more game before he is activated off the injured list.

Prior to the Red Sox’ 10-2 beatdown of the Rockies on Wednesday night, Alex Cora said Bregman was “likely” to return this coming weekend. After the game, the Sox' skipper gave another update on his third baseman and told reporters that Bregman will not be activated before the series opener against the Rays on Thursday.

Bregman last played on May 23, when he exited the game versus the Orioles following a right quad strain. He suffered the same injury as a member of the Astros and missed 10 weeks of the 2021 season.

The veteran has been rehabbing from his injury, running the bases and taking grounders at Fenway Park this week. 

Prior to his injury, the Sox’ third baseman was hitting .299 with 11 homers, 17 doubles, 35 RBI, 22 walks, and 1 stolen base, and he recorded a .938 OPS in 51 games.

Bregman was voted by the players to his third career All-Star Game but opted out of going to Atlanta for the Midsummer Classic.

“For me, with the timing of everything, what I need to do is hopefully be back playing by the end of this week and use the All-Star break to continue to build up and work on my leg,” Bregman said.

TRADE RUMORS SHOT DOWN

Boston signed Bregman early on in spring training to a three-year, $120 million deal, with opt-outs at the end of each season. Rumors have been swirling that the Red Sox could trade Bregman before the trade deadline if the club is unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension.

The 31-year-old is willing to sign an extension, and his agent, Scott Boras, confirmed that when the club was on the West Coast at the end of June.

Bregman wants to stay in Boston, and the club has the cash to spend, especially after trading Rafael Devers to the Giants on Father’s Day.

It’s not clear if the Red Sox have approached Boras and Bregman on a contract extension. 

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden threw some fuel on the fire in his mailbag column, reporting he heard the Mariners, Tigers, and Brewers as potential trade targets if the Sox are not able to come to an agreement on a contract extension.

"The Red Sox would like to extend Bregman before the trade deadline, but it won’t be easy with Scott Boras as his agent," reported Bowden. "And, I’m hearing, in my conversations throughout the league, if he’s not extended, they could end up trading him to Seattle, Detroit or Milwaukee."

The team shot down the idea of trading Bregman before the deadline at the end of the month. 

“One top Red Sox official dismissed the idea that the team would look into trading Alex Bregman if a contract extension can’t be reached before (the) trade deadline, saying, ‘We’re trying to win.' Contract talks have been casual, with the club more focused on draft, deadline, etc," reported MassLive’s Sean McAdam on Wednesday.

Whatever the two sides decide to do, Bregman will instantly help the Red Sox lineup, giving them a proven middle-of-the-order bat as they continue to get into playoff contention before the All-Star break.

YOSHIDA RETURNS

Red Sox outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida made his 2025 season debut. He went 3-for-4 out of the No. 6 spot in the lineup, serving as the team's designated hitter.

Yoshida singled in his first at-bat of the season, ripping a 96.2 mph fastball from Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela into center field on the third pitch he saw. He had an RBI single that kicked off first baseman Michael Toglia's glove and into right field to put the Sox ahead 2-0 in the fourth inning. He doubled in the eighth and scored on Romy Gonzalez’s two-run homer that put the Red Sox ahead 7-2.

Yoshida was activated off the 60-day injured list on Wednesday afternoon prior to the series finale against the Rockies. To make room for Yoshida on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Nick Burdi was placed on the 60-day IL.

To make room for Yoshida on the 26-man roster, the Sox optioned Nate Eaton to Triple-A Worcester. Eaton is coming off a stretch of four straight games where he’s served as the Red Sox' leadoff hitter.

With Yoshida in the lineup, Cora opted to sit the red-hot Ceddanne Rafaela, who has hits in six straight games, in the series finale.

“We’re going to mix and match. It’s a good day for him,” said Cora. “He’s been running around for a while. I know he’s been batting well. One day on the bench isn’t going to stop him from hitting. We actually avoid him from getting tired. He’ll get him ready for (Thursday). We can use him as a defensive replacement or pinch hitter today. But that’s the way we’re going to do it. One of the days one of the lefties is going to start against a righty, and he’ll help us late in games. Everyone’s on board. Everyone understands what we’re all about and what we’re trying to accomplish, and there’s no complaints.”

The 31-year-old is entering his third season with the Red Sox and was primarily used as a DH in 2024, where he hit .280 with 10 homers with 56 RBI, 21 doubles, and two stolen bases while recording a .764 OPS in 108 games.

The Japanese hitter served as a DH this spring but was unable to break camp with the Red Sox because he wasn’t far enough along in his throwing program. What also made it difficult to wedge Yoshida onto the 26-man roster was having Devers penciled in as the club’s primary DH.

Yoshida was able to play the outfield during his rehab stint with the WooSox and even grabbed a first baseman’s glove and worked out at first base. The Red Sox called Yoshida’s time at first base in the minors “light work,” according to McAdam.

“He’s just taking ground balls, getting accustomed to it, just in case, in an emergency,” Cora said last week to reporters when asked about Yoshida taking grounders at first. “He’s been doing it for a while. He hasn’t done it here. It’s something we asked him to do, and he was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it,’ right away. He ordered his first baseman’s mitt five minutes later and started taking grounders.”

Cora doesn’t anticipate Yoshida starting any games at first base right now.

“I don’t anticipate him starting at first base,” said Cora, “but if something crazy happens, at least he can catch throws and knock down a ground ball.”

While in Worcester, Yoshida was asked if he was comfortable playing first base in the big leagues.

“I mean, it’s hard to say. I only got reps (at first base) in practice,” said the outfielder.

Yoshida’s willingness to at least learn the position in order to get more playing time and give the Red Sox more options at the position is somewhat refreshing based off the Devers saga prior to his trade.

RED SOX SWEEP ROCKIES

The Red Sox are rolling, winners of six in a row, defeating the Rockies 10-2, and earning another series sweep. Boston’s offense collected 15 hits while also getting homers from Carlos Narváez, Wilyer Abreu, Romy Gonzalez, and Jarren Duran.

They’ve now won eight of their last nine games and have scored six or more runs in their last six games.

“We did a good a job,” said Cora. “At the beginning of the year, we didn’t do that good a job against certain teams. We actually talked about it before Washington. We did well against Cincinnati, too. We’ve been playing well. The tough one was Anaheim. Besides that, we’ve played competitive baseball. Obviously we’ve got Tampa. We’ve played against them already and played well. We’re glad to have Masa back. It’s a big bat for us. You saw the difference today in how long the lineup was… We’ll have to figure out who’s going to play and all that stuff, but I think it’s the deepest lineup we’ve had in a while here.”

Narváez (2-for-4) crushed his eighth home run and his longest of his career (434 feet) in the second inning. He not only got it done with his bat, but the rookie also threw out Rockies’ Jordan Beck, who was trying to steal second base to end the first inning. It was his MLB-leading 17th time he’s caught a base runner stealing. 

He was also part of a relay that cut down Rockies’ speedster Tyler Freeman at home plate to end the fourth. Toglia doubled off the Green Monster, and Duran played it perfectly, barehanding the ball and throwing it to cutoff man Trevor Story, who fired a seed to the plate where Narváez tagged out the runner.

Abreu (1-for-5) belted his team-leading 18th homer, a 407-foot, two-run blast that gave the Red Sox a 4-0 lead in the fifth. He has five homers and 16 RBI over his last eight games since June 18.

Duran’s three-run blast came in the eighth inning, a laser shot off his bat into the bullpen. He’s homered in consecutive games for the first time since last August. The outfielder extended his hitting streak to 10 games, where he’s hitting .351 with four doubles, two triples, three homers, and 12 RBI over that stretch.

Roman Anthony extended his hitting streak to six games with a single to left field in the fifth inning. Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 10 games (1-for-3) with a homer and two RBI. He has 17 extra-base hits and 22 RBI in 25 games since June 2.

Lucas Giolito continues to look impressive on the mound, dominating the Rockies, tossing six scoreless innings, and allowing four hits while striking out six. He induced 17 swings and misses: eight with his four-seam fastball, five with his changeup, and four with his slider, according to Baseball Savant.

It was his 18th career game with at least six scoreless frames and his third this season. Giolito is the first Red Sox pitcher to toss six or more innings while allowing two runs or less in six straight starts since David Price in 2018.

“Yeah, that’s not normal for me. Usually I want to keep going until they take the ball and rip it from my hands,” said Giolito. “But today was the first time pitching in that really heavy humidity up here in the Northeast. Some of those long at-bats were getting to me…so I let them know that I might be done for the day there. We had a good lead, and the bullpen locked it down. No harm, no foul.”

Giolito has allowed just three runs in his last 38 2/3 innings (0.70 ERA) over his last six starts.

Jorge Alcala pitched a scoreless seventh inning with one strikeout. Isaiah Campbell made his 2025 season debut, tossing two innings but was tagged for two earned runs off four hits.

Boston will begin a crucial four-game series with the Rays before the All-Star break. Walker Buehler (6-6, 6.25 ERA) will start for the Red Sox opposite Tampa Bay righty Taj Bradley (5-6, 4.79 ERA). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. on Thursday.