1 week Ago By Gus Oswald, Last Word On Sports
In what seems like a never-ending disastrous tenure in Colorado, Kris Bryant has to miss time with yet another injury. The Colorado Rockies announced on Monday that Bryant will go on the 10-day IL with lumbar degenerative disc disease. The club is calling up catcher Braxton Fulford in a corresponding move.
The Rockies have had some awful free-agent signings in their history, but Bryant is trending toward the top of that list. When they signed Bryant to a seven-year deal worth $182 million in 2022, they were heavily criticized by Major League Baseball pundits. Why were the Rockies signing Bryant to a massive deal when their roster was nowhere near contending? Three years later, the pundits are looking justified in their criticism.
#Rockies place Kris Bryant on the IL with lumbar degenerative disc disease. https://t.co/bNm8CyNjMg — Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) April 15, 2025 Kris Bryant Injury Continues Trend with Rockies Bryant’s Ailing Back The Rockies were right to be confident in Bryant’s ability to stay on the field.
From 2015-21, excluding the 2020 COVID season, Bryant played at least 150 games in five of six seasons. From 2022-25 with Colorado, however, he has played in a combined 170 games. While various injuries and bad luck have defined Kris Bryant’s tenure in Colorado, the back has been the biggest issue.
Over the past couple of seasons, he has dealt with extended stays on the IL due to back injuries. Several of those instances occurred when Bryant attempted to make a great catch in the outfield and got hurt crashing into the wall. This injury is the most disheartening for Bryant yet.
He was optimistic in the offseason and kept a good attitude about turning around his Rockies tenure this season. He stayed healthy during spring training and has played exclusively as a designated hitter this season. But just when he was starting to show flashes of his bat returning, Bryant is now back on the IL with another back injury.
Both the Rockies and Bryant have to be extremely frustrated that they are dealing with this, especially when he hasn’t even played defense this season. Veteran Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon spoke before the season on how important Bryant playing well for the club would be for the Rockies in an interview with JustBaseball.com’s Patrick Lyons.
“I mean, listen, you guys have covered it, he’s extremely frustrated with how it’s gone, and I expect a lot more from him this year.” “I think he expects a lot from himself, but yeah, for us to be good we need a healthy KB,” McMahon said. Bryant’s Rockies Career by the Numbers Even when Bryant has been healthy, he’s struggled mightily with Colorado.
On paper, he seemed like a perfect fit at Coors Field. In 2021 with the San Francisco Giants, Bryant hit .262/.
344/.444 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 187 at-bats. Bryant managed that by playing his home games at pitcher-friendly Oracle Park.
There was no reason he couldn’t be highly successful hitting at Coors. After a successful 2022 that was cut short due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot and a lower back strain, Bryant has never recovered. He played just 42 games in his debut season in Colorado, a career-low until he played in only 37 games last season.
In his Rockies career, he has hit .244/.324/.
370 with just 17 homers and 61 RBI in 632 at-bats. That is “good” for a -1.6 WAR.
In his seven-year tenure with the Chicago Cubs, Bryant was worth a whopping 28.0 WAR and hit .279/.
378/.508. Per Statcast , Bryant has not recorded a Barrel% higher than 7.
7 in his Rockies’ career. With the Cubs and Giants excluding the COVID season, it never fell below 9.1 and was as high as 11.
7 in 2016. Bryant’s 23 batting run value was in the 80th percentile of MLB in 2021. Since 2023, it has not gotten above -3.
Bryant is not the same hitter he was before coming to Colorado. But due to the contract and the Rockies’ current team situation, they have little choice but to continue sticking with him and hope for the best. Where This Leaves the Rockies Per Spotrac , Bryant is earning $27 million annually for each of the next four seasons.
He is currently 33 years old, and his trade value has never been lower. Trading Bryant is not an option. Would the Rockies be willing to eat the significant amount of money that comes with releasing Bryant? That route does not make a lot of sense either.
This is not like the Russell Wilson deal that turned disastrous with the Rockies’ neighbor, the Denver Broncos. Wilson was at odds with the Broncos’ leadership. The Broncos were willing to move on because they saw a clear path forward for their franchise.
The Rockies are in a hole of their own making. They are stuck with Bryant whether they like it or not. He is not blocking a position for the Rockies when it comes to developing younger players.
His relationship with Rockies manager Bud Black is much better than Wilson’s relationship with Broncos head coach Sean Payton. Colorado already appears to be non-contenders, sitting at 3-12 in the cellar of the National League. Keeping Bryant around as a veteran voice and leader for the club does little to harm the Rockies.
Although it seems highly unlikely, they just have to hope this is Bryant’s last stay on the IL. Hopefully, Bryant will finally put the back issues behind him and turn around his career in the Mile High City. This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.
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