Spring training opens across baseball this week as pitchers and catchers begin reporting to camp. For the Colorado Rockies, they’re due on Thursday. Still, there was a transaction on Tuesday that served as a reminder of where things, sadly, stand with a certain big-name player.Â
Kris Bryant was placed on the 60-day injured list, due to a degenerative lumbar disc disease (lower back).Â
Bryant signed a seven-year, $182 million deal with the Rockies before the 2022 season. He played in 42 games in 2022, 80 in 2023, 37 in 2024 and just 11 last season. For those counting at home, that’s 170 games out of a possible 648. He hit well when he played in 2022, but he’s basically been a non-presence since then.
Still only 34, Bryant has said he’s in pain basically every day. From last November, via the Denver Post:Â
“I wish I had better things to tell you,” Bryant said from his home in Las Vegas. “It’s not in the best shape, and that’s pretty disheartening for me. It’s exhausting for me waking up and hoping to feel (better). I can’t tell you the last time I woke up feeling I’m in a good spot.”
—
“If you asked me two or three months ago, I would say (my back pain) was not affecting my everyday life,” he said. “But now it is, which is really annoying to me because usually when you kind of just rest, it’s supposed to get better. So maybe I’m at a point where I should just do a bunch of stuff to see if that helps me.”
Three years and $81 million remain on Bryant’s contract with the Rockies, who were an MLB-worst 43-119 last season. In his four years with the Rockies thus far, Bryant has hit .244/.324/.370 (84 OPS+) with -1.6 WAR.Â
Bryant is a four-time All-Star who won the 2016 National League MVP, when he was the best player on the World Series champion Cubs. He posted 5.4, 7.3 and 5.7 WAR, respectively, through his first three MLB seasons. Just as a point of comparison, the most statistically similar player to Bryant through age 25 in MLB history was Jim Thome, according to Baseball Reference. Chipper Jones was also in the top five most comparable. The most similar players now are Kevin Youkilis, Preston Wilson and Corey Hart.
The short way to say this is that a litany of injuries — most specifically his back issues — derailed what once looked like the start of a Hall of Fame career for Bryant.
At age 34 with a chronic back problem, it doesn’t seem like there’s much likelihood for Bryant to ever be a productive major leaguer again, though that obviously remains the goal.
For now, Bryant sits on the 60-day IL for the worst team in baseball. It’s been quite the relatively depressing turn for the man who once ruled Wrigleyville.
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