The Rockies announced that they have reinstated Kris Bryant from the injured list. Ashton Goudeau, who was optioned after Thursday’s game without a corresponding move, has been recalled to serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader.
Signed to a massive seven-year, $182MM contract in the offseason, Bryant immediately became the face of the franchise in Denver. His tenure in that position got off to a bit of a slow start, as he hit .281/.338/.351 for an 85 wRC+ in his first 15 games as a Rockie, though it’s possible his production was being squeezed by the back soreness that ultimately landed him on the injured list.
It was thought to be a relatively minor issue with the possibility of Bryant returning after the 10-day minimum stint on the IL, though it ended up taking over three weeks for him to return. It was reported a few days ago that mere rest wasn’t taking care of the issue, with Bryant eventually receiving a cortisone shot to help his recovery.
Although capable of playing multiple positions, Bryant has only been slotted into left field on days where he took the field so far this year, along with three starts at designated hitter. Since Bryant’s absence, the left field playing time has been spread around to Connor Joe, Sam Hilliard and Yonathan Daza. Joe and Daza have both been hitting well on the season so far, with Joe putting up a batting line of .278/.368/.436 for a wRC+ of 119, while Daza’s line is .375/.425/.431, 134 wRC+. Hilliard, however, has slumped to a .159/.268/.304 performance, amounting to a 54 wRC+. Based on those numbers, he seems to be the one most likely to be squeezed out by Bryant’s return.
Despite Bryant’s mediocre start to the year, the club was faring better when he was around. They went 12-9 in April but have a 6-10 record thus far in May. Although just a hair under .500 at 18-19, they are currently in the bottom of the NL West, arguably the strongest division in baseball.
Reinstate? I don’t think I have ever seen that term used in this context except for suspensions. I am used to seeing activate. But I guess variety is the spice of life after all.
Mlbtr how used it 14 times in headlines since May 1st.
Rockies should have paid more attention to the health of Bryant. He does willingly try to play when injured. However the times he gets nagging injuries were steadily increasing as he aged. The weather in Denver probably won’t make things any easier on KB.
“Activate” would be a better term to use. I agree, “reinstate” sounds like coming back from a suspension or restricted list.
As far as the Rockies go, they really need to trade one of the outfielders. Grichuk is needed power, Cron is mashing right now, Bryant is the future face of the franchise, and Blackmon is the current face of the franchise. That pretty much leaves one spot for the OF/1B/DH combo platter along with a backup among Joe, Daza, and Hilliard. Joe is the best 1B among the three, not to mention one of the more popular Rockies, so he should be kept.
Colorado needs to look at the other two and decide who they can get a better return for. Daza has been hot, so he might be the better one to move in a deal for maybe a hybrid starter/reliever. And then just leave Hilliard in as the backup OF and see if he can improve in time. Or try to move Hilliard in a change of scenery deal like maybe to the Reds in exchange for Vladimir Gutierrez.
Lots of possibilities, but as I am sure some of you will point out, the Rockies are not likely to choose the correct one.
Or just keep everyone around for depth. As the Bryant injury showed, injuries happen. And as Hilliard is showing with his performance, there’s no guarantee he’ll be a viable contributor.
Depth outfielders are not hard to find. They have a 4 man bench, 2 of them should not be outfielders, especially when a 3rd in Hampson, can also play OF. There is no point in having extreme depth at one position if other positions are shallow
If if depth outfitters aren’t that hard to find, it’s unlikely they would get much in trade for Daza.
I wasn’t referring to Daza as a depth outfielder. He could easily be a starting CF in the league. Hilliard would probably be better classified as depth which is why I suggested a change of scenery type deal for him.
Although Bryant has been mediocre the Rocks have played better when he was around”. Wow, okay then. Quite a reach when discussing an injury-prone player who’s paid like a superstar. Cubs got KB’s best years and Rocks paid him for those years.
I’m a Cub fan, and I was really glad they never extended him. Yes, he’s a former MVP, but this kind of injury being blamed for his tepid start sounds SO familiar. Most Cubs fans looked at him through rose colored glasses, but when it comes to Bryant you have to stay grounded in reality when you look at what he’s really doing for you.
I thought Charlie Blackmon was the face of the franchise, no?
My reaction as well. Nothing against Bryant, but at this early stage he’s barely in the top 10 in a “face of the franchise” discussion.
The Rockies will regret that signing.
Yep, just wait for Kris Bryant to break a nail and miss another 3-4 weeks.
As a long time Chicago sports fan I had the opportunity to watch Bryant play a lot. He was an outstanding ball player early in his career. Then, as time moved on he seemed to be always plagued by nagging injuries. Hammy, wrist, quad, shoulder, always something going on. They appeared to me at least, that as the season moved along, these injuries seemed to snowball. It’s going to be a long 7 years for the Rockies. Bryant is not aging well.
At some point the Rockies will realize they’ve signed Evan Longoria. Produces decent results when he’s not injured, but those periods are shrinking at an alarming rate. Clearly SF did NOT want a corner on the Evan Longoria market, and so they let him walk. The fact that he landed in COL was a bonus for Zaidi.
Montero needs a slot soon as well. Might be after trade deadline deals, or if they demote Rogers and shift McMahon back over.
Also can’t wait for Vern to fill out, get called up and rake…2024, maybe late 23.
Why anyone gave Bryant such a contract when he’s always hurt is beyond me.
They can get ready for a lot of injury time with him and when he is a little dinged he won’t hit