Astros to activate Alex Bregman from injured list

The Astros will reinstate star third baseman Alex Bregman from the injured list before Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Royals, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Mark Berman of Fox 26). It’ll be Bregman’s first game action in more than two months, as the 27-year-old hasn’t played since straining his left quad on June 16.

In 262 plate appearances, Bregman is hitting .275/.359/.428 with seven home runs. That’s not too dissimilar from the .242/.350/.451 mark he logged over 180 trips to the plate in last year’s shortened campaign. Obviously, Bregman’s output over the past two years falls well shy of the MVP-caliber form he showed in 2018-19. But he’s still been a well above-average performer since the start of 2020, and it seems reasonably plausible Bregman could find something resembling his past star-level form down the stretch.

The Astros’ win over Kansas City Tuesday night pushed their lead in the American League West out to four and a half games over the Athletics. That’s a fairly comfortable margin, and Bregman’s return will only improve Houston's chances of holding onto that lead. Aledmys Díaz, who has mashed in Bregman’s stead over the past few weeks, figures to return to a super-utility role as a versatile, high-end bench bat whom Baker can deploy around the diamond.