Alex Bregman has been the best player for the Boston Red Sox through the first third of the Major League season. The team is going to have to get along without him for a significant portion of the schedule after he strained his quad muscle Friday night. Bregman had hope immediately after that the injury was not going to keep him out a long period of time, but a sleepless night and an MRI revealed that the injury is “significant.”

Bregman was fairly emotional and upset when he talked to reporters between games of a doubleheader Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles. “I was pretty surprised because it felt better after the game (Friday night),” Bregman said. “But last night I couldn't really fall asleep because it hurt. Then after the MRI, I found out it was pretty severely strained. Now it's time to focus or rehab.”

The former Houston Astro suffered a similar quad injury during the 2021 season. He missed about 2 1/2  months and 50 games while he recovered from that injury.

The Red Sox had previously lost first baseman Triston Casas to a ruptured patellar tendon earlier this month. Casas will miss the rest of the season.

As a result of the Bregman injury, the  Red Sox promoted top prospect Marcelo Mayer from Worcester to the parent club. Mayer regularly plays shortstop, but he was in the lineup for the Red Sox in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday night against the Baltimore Orioles.

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Bregman had been a dynamic force in the Boston lineup since the start of the season. He was slashing .299/.385/.553 with 11 home runs and 35 runs batted in prior to the injury. The two-time All-Star was also playing a stellar third base, demonstrating a dependable glove and an accurate arm.

The responsibility for the Red Sox offense will likely fall on slugging designated hitter Rafael Devers and speedy outfielder Jarren Duran. After a brutal start to the season, Devers has turned things around dramatically. He is leading the Major Leagues with 48 runs batted in, and he is hitting .300 despite starting the season hitless in his first 21 at bats and striking out 15 times in that span.

Duran, the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 2024, is slashing .268/.418/.467 with 12 doubles, a league-leading 6 triples, 4 home runs and 33 runs batted in. He has also stolen 12 bases.

The Red Sox are hoping that Mayer is prepared for his promotion to the big leagues. He was slashing  .271/.347/.471 at Triple-A Worcester.