Alex Bregman returns to Red Sox with some ground rules: ‘It might look bad, but we need him’

BOSTON — Alex Bregman returned to the Red Sox lineup Friday, much earlier than he originally thought he would. The catch? Some ground rules that go against every fiber of Bregman’s competitive nature — but must be followed.

After missing 43 games with a right quad strain, Bregman was active Friday and hitting second for the Red Sox without having gone on a rehab assignment. He revealed after the game that the training staff originally thought he’d be out 12 weeks. He returned in exactly seven. And to ensure he doesn’t suffer a setback — and that the decision to accelerate his rehab wasn’t all for naught — the Red Sox have told Bregman he must pick his spots when it comes to hustling at full speed on the basepaths.

“When he hits a ground ball, he’s not gonna go all-out to first,” said manager Alex Cora. “Those are the rules. If you’re gonna do this, it might look bad, but no. We need him healthy and we’re gonna keep him healthy.”

The Bregman Rules were tested early Friday night when he hit a ground ball toward third baseman Junior Caminero and was slow out of the box. Caminero bobbled, but then threw Bregman out easily. In the fifth inning, Bregman was again measured in his running after smoking a 101.6 mph grounder in Caminero’s direction.

“You’ve got to be smart,” Bregman said. “Smash a ball down the third base line, a guy dives and you’ve got to make sure you’re running at under 100%. I feel like over the course of the next few weeks, just building up into this, it’s gonna be good.

“It sucks. But it’s something that the first few weeks, especially, I’ve just got to be smart out of the box. I felt like when I got out there today, I couldn’t feel my legs. They felt like weighed like five pounds. Later in the game, they felt like they weighed a little bit more than that. But it was good to get back. My body feels good.”

In certain situations that the game dictates, Bregman will have no choice but to go full speed. He skied a wall-ball double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and with the Red Sox trailing by a run, vowed to bust it home if Masataka Yoshida had gotten a hit.

Bregman showed no signs of nagging pain while in the batter’s box or in nine innings playing third base. The team, though, knows that soft tissue injuries like the one he suffered can return, so they’re playing it safe for the time being. Bregman won’t play Saturday, then will start Sunday’s first-half finale before the four-day All-Star break. When the Red Sox resume play on the road in Chicago and Philadelphia, the 31-year-old will play two games in each three-game series. It’s another concession he made to get back quicker.

“We’re gonna be working on the days I’m not playing, making sure my full hip complex is staying strong, my hamstrings are good and my quads are good,” Bregman said. “Just building into it.

“Super thankful to our training staff and strength and conditioning staff and everyone in the medical department for allowing me to get back this quick. Initially, we thought it was going to be more like 12 weeks so to get back in seven was pretty awesome. We’ve got to take it a little bit slow and build up running.”

Bregman’s gameday routine will also look a bit different than it did before the injury as he plans to get treatment from the training staff on his right leg before and after every game. When reporters asked about a media scrum Friday afternoon, Bregman was already in the throes of a rigorous pregame build-up.

“The warm-up might be a little bit longer… Before the game, after the game, we’ll be on top of it doing a lot of isometric work for the whole hip complex,” Bregman said.

In Bregman, who made the All-Star team despite missing six weeks, the Red Sox are getting a star back at a time when the club is rolling. Boston has won eight games in a row, including seven without Bregman, who took on a quasi-coach/mentor role for the club’s younger players while completing his rehab.

“It’s good to have him as a player,” said Cora. “I enjoy the coaching part of it, the tutoring and all of that, but I love the player.”

Overall, Bregman was 1-for-4 on a night Ceddanne Rafaela was once again the hero for Boston.

“Obviously, it took a few at-bats to get feeling good but most importantly, my body felt good and I was able to square a few balls up there in my last two at-bats,” Bregman said. “Good to be back. What an incredible team win.”