BOSTON — Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman is headed to get an MRI on his right quad. It sounds like he might be placed on the 10-day injured list as early as today.

“He’s sore,” manager Alex Cora said before Saturday’s doubleheader against the Orioles. “So we’ll see where we’re at. We’ll get the results whenever.”

Bregman’s quad felt worse than he expected it would feel when he woke up this morning. He initially sounded optimistic after Friday’s game.

Bregman singled off the left field wall with two outs in the fifth inning Friday. As he made the turn at first base, he slowed down as the ball was fielded and thrown back into the infield. As Bregman arrived back at first base, he immediately signaled to the dugout that he needed to come out of the game.

The 31-year-old spent a little more than two months on the IL with a quad injury in 2021.

“I saw him this morning. He’s like, ‘Eh, it’s worse than I thought,’” Cora said. “So let’s see what the MRI shows and we’ll go from there.”

When Cora was asked if it’s trending in the direction of an IL stint, he replied, “I don’t want to jump into conclusions but yes.”

Bregman is batting .299 with a .385 on-base percentage, .553 slugging percentage, .938 OPS, 11 home runs, 17 doubles, 35 RBIs, 32 runs, 22 walks and 42 strikeouts in 51 games (226 plate appearances).

Cora said DH Rafael Devers, who has started 942 games at third base in his career, is not a candidate to replace Bregman at third.

Cora also was asked if top shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer is in the conversation for his first MLB call-up. Triple-A Worcester is home playing Durham today.

Mayer has started six games at third base in the minors, including four games this year.

“There’s a lot of guys in the conversation,” Cora said. “Roster construction comes into play. Guys in the minor leagues, how they fit the roster and all that stuff.”

It’s possible a roster move will be made Saturday.

“We have to wait and see but we obviously don’t want to play short,” Cora said.

Nick Sogard will play third base Saturday.

“There’s a few guys that have experience over there,” Cora said. “So we’ll mix and match. Obviously if he goes on the IL, that comes into play and versatility. Roster construction comes into play. I’ve been saying this since spring training, the first day. So we’ll see where we’re at. I think now it’s more about mixing and matching if he goes on the IL for a while.”

Cora mentioned Friday the potential of Ceddanne Rafaela moving to third base and Kristian Campbell playing center field in an emergency. He also has mentioned Abraham Toro and Connor Wong as being capable of playing third base.

Cora also didn’t rule out Campbell playing some third base. The 22-year-old rookie started five games there in the minors last year.

“Roster flexibility, versatility comes into play,” Cora said. “Every day it’s going to be something different probably. We’ll mix and match and we’re going to maximize our roster.”