The Red Sox are on the brink of a historic low in terms of their offense. A 0-9 blowout loss to the Blue Jays marked yet another chapter in their underwhelming offensive season. Now, with these struggles and Rafael Devers gone, all eyes turn to a sidelined star, Alex Bregman. Once the heartbeat of the offense, Bregman could be the last shot at turning things around. And as the team clings to that hope, manager Alex Cora has just shared a crucial update on his return.

Bregman’s been out since May 24 with a calf strain. The same kind of issue he dealt with back in 2021, which kept him sidelined for almost two months. Will the recovery be faster this time? Well, just a few days ago, Bregman said he is recovering at warp speed, but going by Cora’s latest update, he may still have a long way to go before he’s ready to return.

“Alex Bregman hit today and will take grounders tomorrow, Alex Cora told the media. As of last update, Bregman is not expected to be back before the All-Star Break,” MLB insider Gordo wrote on X.

So, Bregman is expected to be back only after the season gets going post the All-Star break on July 18, but Cora didn’t offer a specific return date for Bregman. At this rate, it’s starting to look like he could be out for around two months, like what happened with his quad injury a few years back.

As it stands right now, Bregman has yet to take grounders, which means he is nowhere close to completing his rehab just yet. Now, that’s something that will be hard for the Red Sox to compensate for.

Just before his injury, Bregman was batting .299 with a .938 OPS over 51 games. Since his injury, the Red Sox’s offense has only gone south, especially after trading away Devers.

“I feel like we’re putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to score a bunch of runs every single day. When we’re at our best, we’re just stringing at-bats together, passing the baton. And right now I feel like we’re looking for that one bit hit, the homer or something,” MLB insider Christopher Smith wrote on X quoting the Boston outfielder Jarren Duran.

The Red Sox have been inconsistent at the plate, failing to generate momentum and put as many runs on the board as they would like to. Take the game against the Blue Jays for example. They just managed four hits in the game. Moreover, the Red Sox drew just two walks all game and left only three runners on base.

Since trading Devers, Boston has scored only 28 runs over the last 10 games, averaging 2.8 runs per game. Simply put, their offense has hit a wall, and it’s showing in the standings. But is it only the offense that is letting the Red Sox down?

Pitching is also contributing to the Red Sox’s slump

Well, the Red Sox’s starting pitching has also been a mess lately. Especially in the first inning. Their team ERA in the opening frame was an ugly 7.04 till the first half of this month. Notably, that was the second-worst in the league behind only the Rockies.

Since Crochet’s last start, Boston starters have given up 15 first-inning runs over just four games! This situation feels like a deja vu of the Red Sox’s 2023 season. If you remember, they were using openers in two out of every five games back then because they just didn’t have enough reliable starters. And we might see a few openers this time, too.

But it’s not only about the starters…

The bullpen hasn’t helped much either. In the latest loss to the Blue Jays, Luis Guerrero gave up two runs on two hits and a walk while only managing one out in the seventh. Next, Brennan Bernardino followed, and things only got worse. He walked four batters, gave up four runs, and saw his ERA jump from 3.34 to 4.40 in his 36th outing of the season.

To make matters worse, the Red Sox have issued 8+ walks in three of their last seven games. And that’s concerning for Alex Cora. But what’s the solution? Well, the team probably needs external help.