Kris Bryant’s status with the Rockies remains up in the air, at best. The former NL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player signed a seven-year free agent contract four offseasons ago but has thus far managed to play in only 170 games due to a cascade of injuries — the most notable among them being a degenerative lumbar condition in his lower back that continues to cause him pain. The Rox already placed Bryant on the 60-day injured list (upon signing right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano shortly after camp opened), and Bryant told the team’s beat he’s unsure as to when or whether he’ll be able to resume playing (video links via Kevin Henry of the Denver Gazette).
Bryant noted that he’s been “waking up in pain every day” and been unable to progress beyond relatively minor physical activity, let alone baseball activities. The 34-year-old acknowledged that even jogging “is giving me a big problem right now.”
There’s no timetable for Bryant’s return at present. He played in only 11 games last season and 37 the year prior. He’s reached 200 plate appearances only once in his four seasons with Colorado. Asked whether it was worth it for him to continue trying to put his body through the rigors of rehabbing, Bryant replied (via Thomas Harding of MLB.com):
“I honestly try not to let myself get there, just because, when you’re going through it every single day, you just try to make it day to day. I think people out there with chronic pain, you don’t want to think about so far in the future, because you’re trying to get through the day. So I haven’t let myself get there.”
Bryant’s physical decline has been ongoing for some time, but it came about in abrupt fashion. In 2021, he played 144 games between the Cubs and Giants, turning in a combined .265/.353/.481 slash (24% better than league average) with 25 home runs in 586 plate appearances. His debut season with the Rockies was shortened by a monthlong absence due to a lower back strain, but it was a bout of plantar fasciitis that really limited his time on the field. He appeared in only 42 games but was at least excellent when healthy, hitting .306/.376/.475 in 181 plate appearances.
Since that time, Bryant has been placed on the IL due to a heel injury, a broken finger and a ribcage injury. He’s now had four IL stints (including the current one) due to lower back troubles dating back to Opening Day 2024. Last year’s IL placement on April 14 proved to be season-ending in nature.
On a purely baseball level, Bryant’s repeated injury struggles are understandably maddening for Rockies fans, who see the albatross contract as emblematic of a former leadership regime that far too often put the Rockies on a negative trajectory.
From a purely human level, it’s unfortunate to see anyone’s career so aggressively derailed by a chronic, degenerative condition that could have lasting implications for Bryant well beyond his playing days. To already be facing such a debilitating physical condition at a young age — Bryant turned 34 on Jan. 7 — must be grueling from a mental and emotional standpoint, particularly for someone whose career began with such promise. Regardless of what happens with Bryant’s baseball career, one would hope that doctors are able to find a means to simply allow him to live his life in a a state of relative comfort — which does not sound to have been the case for quite some time now.
