Red Sox hopeful Bregman will return before All-Star break

The Boston Red Sox and Alex Bregman are hopeful the third baseman will return to the lineup before the All-Star break.

"It's moving in the right direction," Bregman said Friday after undergoing an ultrasound two days before, according to MassLive's Christopher Smith.

The Red Sox are internally doubtful Bregman will be back before the end of June but believe the 31-year-old will return soon after, according to Smith.

Bregman has been sidelined since May 23 after leaving a game with what was diagnosed as a quad strain. He missed more than two months with a similar injury in 2021 while playing for the Houston Astros.

"This one's been healing much faster, which is maybe not what I would have predicted at the beginning, but it has been," Bregman said.

Bregman was one of the Red Sox best hitters before the injury. The offseason acquisition owns a .299/.385/.553 slash line with 11 home runs, 17 doubles, and 35 RBIs in 51 games.