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BALTIMORE – Each day, perhaps for the rest of the season, Astros manager Joe Espada is going to make multiple lineups: One will have Alex Bregman playing third base, another will have him at designated hitter and another will have him at first base – a position he hasn’t played since summer ball in high school.

Which lineup Espada decides to hand over to the umpire will depend on how Bregman tells him he’s feeling earlier in the day. Bregman came down with a sore right elbow about a week ago, and he missed five consecutive games before returning to the lineup at designated hitter on Wednesday. Friday marked the third consecutive day Bregman started at DH, though he was originally scheduled to play third base before Yordan Alvarez was scratched with a stiff neck.

Bregman contends his elbow feels good enough for him to play primarily third base the rest of the season, though he will get time at first base as well. He worked out at first during batting practice on Thursday and Friday by practicing his footwork and movements, but he didn’t throw. He was using catcher Victor Caratini’s first-base mitt. Even when Bregman’s elbow doesn’t feel good, the Astros must find a way to keep his bat in the lineup on days Alvarez is at DH.

“I think I’ll play third most of the time,” Bregman said Friday. “Maybe a few games at first, but I’ll play a lot of third. As long as the elbow is feeling good, [I can] play third and kind of mix and match. Whenever Yordan plays left, maybe DH. The arm feels good enough to play third right now. I’ve just got to keep it feeling that way.”

Bregman threw at 120 feet postgame Thursday, which is what gave Espada the confidence to initially put him at third base for Friday’s game. Bregman hasn’t played first base since high school, so putting him at the position in high-stakes games in August and September comes with risk. Espada was encouraged by watching Bregman practice at first.

“He looked good,” Espada said. “He didn’t throw the ball, but the footwork looked good, the angles he took looked fine. He’s a ballplayer. If that day comes [to play first], he should be fine. He should be able to handle it.”

For Bregman, there’s a much different mentality playing first base than there is at third base.

“Normally you're taught to go get every ball and react to where the ball’s hit, but when [a] ball’s not hit to you [at first base], you have to bust your tail to get over to first base,” Bregman said.

Caratini made an appearance at first base in Friday’s 7-5 loss to the Orioles, making him the eighth player to play the position for Houston this year. The Astros have struggled at filling the spot since they released Jose Abreu, though Jon Singleton has gotten the most at-bats there and has posted a .683 OPS with 11 homers.

Bregman said there is no structural damage to his UCL and that he had some “gremlins” in the elbow. If the gremlins persist, Bregman at first base could be a little more routine.

“His baseball acumen is fine,” Espada said. “He’s going to catch the ball. We’ll still talk through stuff and make sure that we cover all the lines when it comes to what to do when the ball is hit to him, especially relays and bunt plays.”