Kris Bryant’s star-crossed Rockies tenure added another chapter earlier this week when the former NL MVP was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier this week due to lumbar degenerative disc disease. Recurring back issues are just one variety of the of several injuries that have limited Bryant to 170 games over his three-plus seasons with Colorado, yet it appears to be the most persistent obstacle keeping Bryant from getting onto the field for any sustained length of time.
Bryant shared some details about his situation with reporters (including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding) on Sunday, including some of the side effects of his current back problem. After undergoing an exercise program yesterday, Bryant said “I woke up not feeling great,” and described himself as being “in constant pain and nauseous, where I can’t eat, which was the situation today.” The nature of the back injury can come and go, as Bryant described a game situation where he was feeling fine for most of the contest, but by his final at-bat could barely swing.
The “extremely frustrating” degenerative disc disease has left Bryant at least thinking about a surgery, though “the doctors aren’t there yet” in recommending it. Such a procedure would almost surely end Bryant’s 2025 season and put him onto another lengthy cycle of rehabilitation and workouts with an eye towards Opening Day 2026, maybe as a best-case scenario.
For now, Bryant isn’t sure when he’ll feel well enough that a return to the field is feasible. He received two anti-inflammatory shots on Tuesday, though the injections apparently only provided limited help given his nausea today. In the bigger picture, Bryant also said he isn’t considering retirement, stating plainly that “I want to play. I want to talk to doctors, see if there’s anything else we can do. But, yeah, I want to not give up.”
Bryant’s seven-year, $182MM contract with the Rockies can’t be considered anything but a bust, as Bryant has hit only .244/.324/.370 over 712 plate appearances during the life of the deal, and the Rox have a disastrous 192-315 record since Opening Day 2022. Beyond all the talk of salaries and second-guessing front office decisions, one can’t help but feel sympathy for Bryant as he is struggling through what is clearly a painful situation that is impacting the quality of his life.
Until a health breakthrough emerges or perhaps until Bryant decides to get surgery, all he and the Rockies can do is play the waiting game. Colorado’s dismal 4-17 start has almost surely sunk whatever chance the team had at a competitive season, and the Rox have increasingly turned to a number of younger players making their MLB debuts as a possible glimpse into the future.
Money is already wasted. Colorado might as well cut him and let him go home to keep the roster spot. Or see if they can reach a retirement settlement like Was did w/ Stras. Roster slot is more valuable.
“Money is already wasted..Reach a retirement settlement”..Bryant’s agent, Scott Boras doesn’t offer do-overs, discounts or “settlements”.
The only “settlement” that Scott Boras will agree to involves both himself and Kris Bryant collecting 100% of the contract terms.
I’m doubtful that the MLBPA, where Boras also has major influence, would even allow a “settlement” that didn’t involve 100% of the monies owed being paid out. MLB isn’t the NBA, that does allow this type of settlement.
amp.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/nationals-pitcher-st…
I didn’t say lower the financial value but the Rox could come to the table if they want to give him a proper retirement and not DFA. He doesn’t have any good history in Colorado though. Perhaps they’d prefer to work out deferrals and Bryant would want to walk away with a retirement.
There is a huge difference between not worth 182 million and not worth a roster spot. There is no sense in letting him go. Might as well hope he gets healthy at some point.
He’s one of the worst players in the major leagues right now. He will never have value on his contract.
He’s been terrible for 3 seasons.
He’s been hurt. Perhaps if he were healthy he would be good again or at least good enough to have a roster spot on what is a terrible team.
Less than 1 full seasons worth of at bats. And this season just started to count that as a year is weird.
Yeah, Joel. The Rox will wait it out because they are notorious for doing that. Maybe they think he’ll sell a jersey again.
He’s 33 years old. Has a chronic back problem and is no longer any good. That’s not going to magically disappear as he gets older. But you know we’ll watch it play out.
Key numbers in that statement are 4-17 and 7 year deal. What exactly are they waiting for to get the surgery? It to get later in the year so that he has ZERO chance to play in 2026? This is mysterious at best as to what they’re waiting for.
If he’s ready to retire, he or Boras will call the club. Many including me deal with back injuries daily and it is frustrating when you do what you did just yesterday and the pain starts all over again. Nauseousness might be from the medication. Most importantly is adding stress to the situation tends to make it worse.
Each situation is different but look at Chris Sale. Unless Bryant comes to them with a retirement decision, just let it play out. Most likely this ends up like Dustin Pedroia’s situation ended but you never know.
This may never happen because the Rox don’t have an exceptional farm system but at some point you’re choosing to leave a prospect off the 40 man that might actually help the future squad to roster Kris Bryant.
The Rockies will wait it out because there is no reality downside to doing anything else besides wait it out.
JBigz, he’ll be moved to the 60 day IL if it’s long term and that saves a spot until the end of the season
The word degenerative means it will only get worse.
@UncleMike, back surgery is no guarantee to help and can create long-term issues. Back surgery isn’t TJ and surgery generally isn’t some panacea.
Average- Well doing nothing doesn’t seem to be helping much now does it? I have the same problem but I’m 68 and not trying to play baseball like he says he is. As long as I’m not bed ridden I’m happy. Sounds like he’s not happy.
or they could trade him to the cubs to do one of those one day and retirement things where he could have a big sendoff
I’m betting at his income level he can just jump to whatever stage treatment he desires, but most people have to go through rounds and rounds of PT, injections, ablations, etc. , before insurance will maybe approve a spinal surgery. On the other side, there are also people who do respond positively to those less invasive procedures, regardless of it being a degenerative condition, and by pushing surgery down the road, you can eliminate the need to replace the parts used in the fusions and disc replacements. I had my first fusion at 30 because of an injury I incurred at 13, and now just had my second at 45. I’m not complaining, but it’s not fun to know this cycle will continue. He should exhaust all other possibilities first because there is life after baseball.
While I won’t pretend to understand his exact health issues or the type of potential surgery. I will say from my own back issues and issues of those that I know that some back surgeries are less evasive than you may expect. A 60 day IL could be more than enough time to heal and get prepared to again.
I have had 4 spinal surgeries and it’s not as complicated as you may think. Any injury involving discs in the spine are usually rehab first and if no relief is given, it’s straight to the surgery table. In cases like the one presented here, which I have degenerative disc disease as well, the cycle of rehab should be foregone to advanced pain management. This includes electrodes surgically inserted into the discs the numb nerve endings until a surgeon can prepare the proper plan to either fuse vertebraes or either do a full artificial disc replacement surgery. Either way it’s painful as hell and requires 8-12 weeks of intensive rehab just to get back to walking, much less twisting, turning, jarring or any part of that. In layman terms, his outcome doesn’t look very promising. I never played close to the pro level and it basically brought a grinding halt to my playing in tournament teams in baseball and softball. I’m hoping all the best for Bryant because he has access to medical procedures that I don’t and technology may have provided some better outcomes recently but it’s not a good look for him at all.
Do you ever not partially quote people
A roster spot for what? Who is that one piece that is missing from this roster? They have plenty of candidates to cut if they had anyone being blocked.
What they need to do is trade Kyle Farmer while he has value. Someone would overpay for him right now.
Someone would give up a couple prospects for Kyle Freeland.
Someone might give up a decent prospect for McMahon.
They need to try and deal the guys over 30 with any value and start fresh.
It probably would be best to replace some of the guys at the top first. Preston Mattingly of the Phillies is young and might be able to build a good team in Colorado.
Settlements are improbable put possible. The Mets “reached a settlement” with David Wright when he retired. I dont think the terms were ever released but there was always mutual good will between David and the Mets.
@mlb Bryant is the absolute last player who should take an type of discount. He wasthe face of service time manipulation.
This reality might not support the politically based stance you so often taken in your comments. It is still however reality.
This is a perfect example of why none playoff teams shouldn’t sign free agents to multiple years. Too great of risk being stuck with albatross.
Perfect example of why a salary cap is needed, he should’ve never got that contract.
Commenters on this site get off on the idea of making sure the billionaire owners never lose a cent
Nope. No salary cap. Make sure you spit right in the face of every mlb you ever see going forward for even thinking about a salary cap. A lot of former players have lost millions trying to protect the players from ever surrendering to a salary cap
Who cares if the Rockies have an albatross contract? They suck with or without the contract.
The Rockies are an albatross.
Steroids
What does David Ortiz have to do with this?
🙂
No. David Ortiz got a pass because people like him….
I sometimes wonder if players in this sort of predicament that clearly want to play, do they ever feel guilty about taking such large sums of money without giving back even an iota of value? There a guys that don’t care and nor do they have to, its a contract signed by both sides and there is this risk the owners are taking by giving out such contracts. However I myself would feel badly about making so much money and literally doing nothing to deserve it. And yes, it is easier to cry in a Mercedes than it is to in a Corolla, but nonetheless I still wonder how many players would state the same sentiment.
If we are talking specifically Bryant I would say no he doesn’t feel guilty because he was underpaid early in his career and the Cubs blatantly manipulated his service time. I think he feels he’s owed this money even if it’s not quite fair that the Rockies are paying it.
Would you feel guilty if you were in his shoes? He obviously had to earn the contract. They couldn’t have predicted he’d be so banged up and terrible. So, no guilt whatsoever.
The Rockies are beyond dumb for giving the contract out. He shouldn’t feel bad at all.
I didn’t know he was going to have chronic back issues and be this terrible so quickly but this was an obvious stupid baseball and financial decision from the jump. Trade Arenado & eat cash then sign this guy when you’re clearly in need of a rebuild.
Beyond stupid for Colorado and they deserve to be eating this
Saying it’s a stupid contract is hindsight nonsense. The whole reason it’s a terrible contract is the injuries.
FWIW, the day they signed the contract, I said that the Rox should trade him to the RS and eat $52M of the contract. That’s how bad it was. It turned out way worse than a $52M overpay, but that’s what it was.
Wrong again Joel. Continue to disagree because you like to disagree
Yep, Joe. Dumb from the jump became even more of an albatross than I thought.
Should the Red Sox have traded Devers for Bryant? Not sure which contract is worse at this point.
It was a head scratcher at the time it was signed. The team wasn’t competitive nor did they look close. They were trading away salaries like they were rebuilding but not getting back prospects for their star players. Then they turn around and give a player above market rate at a position they just traded away from for salary relief. Arenado at the time was younger, affordable given his production, and controllable through his contract. Not to mention more productive than Bryant. Hindsight wasn’t needed for this one to not make sense from a baseball or business perspective.
Let’s keep in mind Arenado didn’t want to play there anymore he wanted out. And the Rockies probably had to overpay a little to get someone to sign with them like most losing teams do. I didn’t like the move at the time but the real reason it looks bad now is the injuries and you can’t predict injuries there was nothing to indicate this would happen.
Arenado at no time was younger than Bryant. That is false.
It looks this bad this fast because of his injuries. It was always bad from the day he inked it.
The day you traded Arenado away for prospects was the day you needed to begin a rebuild. Not sign KB to a stupid deal.
The problem with the contract is the injuries. That’s what has made it a bad contract.
They are still rebuilding with Bryant. I live in Denver it’s not a poor city. Fans still show up eventhough the team is terrible. They can afford it. The only one who benefits when owners don’t spend is the owner.
King. Of. Cards
Should the Red Sox have traded Devers for Bryant? Not sure which contract is worse at this point.
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I’d make a fair sized wager that Devers has a higher WAR/$$$ on his contract than Vlad on his. And I’d make the same bet that he out-performs Soto.
It is highly likely at this point that Devers 1st year bWAR on this contract will be higher than Bryant’s 7-year cumulative bWAR with the Rox.
No offense, but a comparison of the two is incredibly inane.
Best thing about Bryant for the Rockies is his contract keeps them out of the MLBPA payroll grievance
The Soto and Guerrero contracts are both stupid. That doesn’t make Devers contract any less stupid.
Devers contract guarantees him an additional 140 million than Bryants. Both contracts are dumb and have or will age poorly. At least with Bryant it’s because of injury instead of with Devers which is just stupidity on the Red Sox part.
The Soto and Guerrero contracts are both stupid. That doesn’t make Devers contract any less stupid.
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Of course the Devers contract is less stupid (or smarter).
Vlad is a slightly better player, but he makes ~ 20% more, and his contract includes 4 more years after Devers contract is concluded.
Soto has more variability, but he gets paid ~ 75% more, and again has 4 more years after Devers retires.
I don’t those contracts are even close.
It was a stupid contract at the beginning. I like KB as a player, but he wasn’t worth that money in the first place.
As long as he is giving it his all, he has nothing to feel guilty about. Every player wants to play well, and I’m sure there is some added pressure with a contract, but don’t think guilt should enter into the equation unless you are Rendon levels of dogging it
Bryant is more likable than Rendon
Bryant actually cares about his job unlike Anthony
During the off season where he eventually signed with the Rockies, I was eating outside at a restaurant in Newport Beach when I saw Kris walking by with what seemed to be family members. I wasn’t positive so I just said, “Kris.” As he walked out of site behind a pillar, he nicely replied, “Yeah?” And the. I quickly asked him to come to the Dodgers. His family members laughed. Seemed like a cool guy to me
I seriously doubt the dodgers would’ve been interested lol
It’s not even May yet and the Rockies are already giving up on the season.
The 4-17 start certainly isn’t helping
The Rox gave up long before the first pitch was thrown this year.
But at least they’re letting young guys get a crack at it.
They need to build a new org top to bottom. They’ve had some guys perform in the low minors and rise up some prospect lists only to stall out as they reached AA/AAA.
I don’t see this team getting out of the basement for another half decade at minimum. They need to have an exceptional FO to even compete against the 3 big spenders and the Dbacks. They can’t compete financially with the former 3 and Mike Hazen runs circles around the entire Rockies FO.
Either Pitt or Colorado is the bleakest outlook in baseball, IMO. Pittsburgh might get saved by some exceptional pitching if they can all stay healthy.
The Rockies are giving up on nothing! They are blindly walking towards yet another “Late August Surprise” when they will be, out of nowhere, officially eliminated from playoff contention.
That’s going to become a problem. They had an announced ticket sale of 24k on Saturday, but when I was watching, it didn’t look like more than maybe 6,000 there.
Those numbers are grossly inflated by the season ticket holders who didn’t show or the corporations that buy large ticket packs that no one used. Their attendance has been almost Miami level bad
Won’t somebody think of the poor billionaires
You do every time you watch one of their teams play.
Easily the dumbest counter argument I’ve seen from a bootlicker so far
raregokus
Easily the dumbest counter argument I’ve seen
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It’s a fair comment. I’d make an educated that you are using a computer from a billionaire, an internet provider from a billionaire, and number of software programs from billionaire(s).
If you don’t like billionaires, then how about you refuse to use any of their products?
Nice low IQ hyperbole
Bryant is extraordinarily wealthy, but I don’t think he is a billionaire yet.
All injury team: Kris Bryant, Anthony rendon, Mike trout, Byron buxton, Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Trevor story, pre 2021 Aaron judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ lemahieu, strasburg Chris sale and finally lance mccullers Jr
There’s gotta be people I’m forgetting
You’re forgetting nearly all of the Dodgers starting pitchers the last three years.
Strasburg
Jacob degrom and clayton Kershaw would round out ur rotation
Back injuries are no joke, and with his type of reoccurring injury I don’t see him ever get back to average production.
Yep. Especially considering the nature of swinging. He’s probably done.
If he has any integrity he will say
“I can’t take this money if I give nothing to the team or the fans”
He won an MVP and was paid barely over league minimum if that. The fans and team didn’t give him money when he was underpaid so why would he owe someone now?
If you don’t know baseball please don’t comment
He got a 7 million dollar bonus to sign as a first round draft pick
This is some unchecked jealousy right here. What he’s getting paid doesn’t affect you in any way. To say he would have no integrity if he didn’t accept the money he earned in his contract, for real you need to check yourself.
Right, surely the Rockies would be good if only Monfort could direct that money elsewhere.
This team had the R&D head folding towels during covid, it’s a clown show that no amount of payroll space can fix.
nah man, there’s no need to be loyal toward the Monfort family. They kind of suck.
Cash them checks, Kris, the Monforts are insured.
Baseball is a business. And it has always been a business. The fans should accept that.
Why did the Giants and Dodgers move? MONEY for their owners. KB shouldn’t be worried about the money at all.
Well, nationals had insurance when Strasburg went down. Huge contract too.
This is exactly what I have. 2 vertabrae in my lumbar have zero cartilage so they’re rubbing against each other. Extremely painful. I’ve had several procedures done on my back. They do put me under anesthesia, but there’s no cutting involved. They will numb my nerves in my back. The pain relief varies but it lasts about 2-3 months. So I’ll go in again and they burn my nerves off. That pain relief also varies but it’s supposed to give pain relief for up to 4 months.
Not sure if Bryant’s issue is more severe but in hope he recovers from this. I’m really rooting for him to just have one season in Colorado where he can play more than a stretch of 3 games in a row.
If they’re stealing that much from the owners, they each deserve a Luigi Mangione Award for public service.
As someone who’s dealt with a debilitating lumbar/nerve injury…I know exactly the pain Kris is going through. This type of injury NEVER goes fully away, but can definitely be healed where he can have a normal life again…I just highly doubt returning to the Major League level is in reach even after rehab. He’s going to lose (or already lost) a lot of weight and muscle mass from not being able to eat. Sad story, and I wish him the best! You never know; from the moment you wake up til the moment you go to bed, your life can be shattered into a million pieces, especially with a serious injury.
This is what happens Greg Maddux refuses to take your bat as a souvenir.
The bigger question is why in the hell did the Rockies get him at the first place when they just succeeded trading Arenado. We all thought they were nicely entering the rebuilding mode. Then they bought a Ferrari for no reason.
That was just a crazy move. They lost Story & Gray to free agency rather than trade them. Took a $52M bath on Arenado by trading him after his worst and only bad season. Then as soon as the core of the team was gone, they burned more money on Bryant.
That said, they signed Desmond long-term, and they didn’t even have an open position for him.
Dick Monfort is kind of an idiot.
His contract surely reserves the right for the Rockies to have examinations performed by doctors of their own choosing. I don’t think it’s a stretch that he could be declared medically unfit, in which circumstance the insurance policy the Rockies hold on the contract would pay the remainder. It doesn’t sound like a road he’s willing to travel, in that event, Rockies attempt to void his deal, draw the ire of MLPA, Boras law suits etc. No matter what they lose.
Multi talented poster. Man with degrees in law and medicine. GOAT.
The Rockies won’t attempt to redo Bryant’s deal because it would be terrible for optics if they ever try to sign a top free agent.
It’s a contract and injury isn’t a valid reason to void a standard player contract.
This is too bad because at one time he was one of the top players in the game. Reading the petulant comments though you’d think he was injuring himself on purpose.
Those Bryzzo jerseys sure aged well. As did the Bryzzo16 trollbot who was seemingly everywhere under multiple screen personas then disappeared
Ask Theo to check the dumpsters outside for Bryzzo16? Jumping to conclusions and surmising that KB retires… did the math here and KB will have received $255,618 each for his 712 PAs.
Kris, get the surgery, do the rehab, try again next year.
Playing through this will only hurt you more in the long run.
You have a life after baseball to look forward to with plenty of money, dont increase the odds of your life being riddled with constant pain.
Could he get a back ablation. That is when the doctors use radio frequency heat to burn the nerve endings down on each side of the spinal column. The nerve endings will eventually grow back but for the next 6-8 months you will not feel any pain.
Sounds like the beginnings of a creature feature, unleash the Kaiju soon to be wreaking havoc on Park City
Giants get crap for not signing guys but they also pass on some resigns. Not signing Bryant was great non move.
Bryant should call up the guy that worked on Yelich.
KB has always been about the money, so there is no way he is agreeing to anything that leaves monetary value on the table. He obviously did not come to Colorado to compete for championships. So, the only way he agrees to retire is if the Rox decide they need the 40-man slot. I believe this is only a possibility in the off-season. In season, they can free up the slot but putting him on the 60-day injury list. Presumably, that is exactly what will happen if they jointly conclude he requires surgery or longer term rehabilitation.
He obviously did not come to Colorado to compete for championships.
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I understand that money is money, but that is a whole lot more so for us commoners. I can’t imagine signing a contract and never playing another meaningful game for the rest of your life.
He *could* retire anytime fergs, but more likely is what you said- going on the 60 and punting the decision until *later*
I believe there is a time in the offseason when everyone on the 60 day needs to be added back to the 40-man roster. That, presumably, is when the Rox could have a decision to make. Of course, reading posts from Rox fans, one infers they doubt the Rox have sufficient prospect depth for that to be an issue. As an aside, I believe the timing of that decision is linked to the Rule 5 draft.
You’re an a**
I have the same degenerative disc disease. I’ve had it for about 20 years. It is no picnic. It’s very painful a lot of the time and no idea when it will flareup. I was in my 40’s when I started having trouble. 3 surgeries. It really does limit what a person can do. I pretty much had to stop all sports. I wish him the best.
Good luck in your constant recovery, mab!
Thanks guys.
Yeah we miss ya Mab you Pepe Frias and Enrique Romo were quite the Murderers Row there for the Pilots. Hope you remain on course for recovery
I don’t see why you should be mad at bryant – he got screwed by ownership the first half of his career and got paid on the back end as the system is designed. it isn’t fair but it also isn’t his fault
I lived in the Tampa area when Wil Myers came up, with much hype, but after a good rookie year his career slowly went downhill. When Bryant came up with my team a couple of years later, the hype was similar, and he lived up to it for a while. He will probably retire, though, with numbers similar to Myers’. Injuries, ineffectivenes, and other factors usually keep “future HOF” players from ever getting there. That is the rule, not the exception, and it’s part of the reason prospect-hugging is unwise.
Well said. Most fans over value minor league prospects.
As a Rockies fan, I grow tired of the subject of Kris Bryant. We wondered why he was signed in the first place, and now we wonder why they don’t just pay him to go away. He’s not Kris Bryant anymore, and never has been for the Rockies. Nothing against him personally, it’s just that we came to watch baseball..
Needless to say, it’s frustrating for everybody involved. The player wants to play, the Owner wants ROI, the fans want everything from everyone (I mean that with good intent) and a persistent injury is all that stands in the way. I hope KB obtains a full recovery; he’s got lots of life ahead and I can only hope many years of playing ball as well.
The question is how did Dr Boras explain away degenerative spine disease on an MRI. I think the Giants knew. They were desperate for a star and didn’t even try to retain the one they traded for. I also suspect the cation they showed with Correa’s medical was because they saw what he got away with Bryant.
Unfortunately sometimes your body tells you when you’ve had enough, and if it is going to affect his day to day life that’s really a tough pill. It has happened tho recently. David Wright and Prince Fielder come to mind
Bryant didn’t pull a fast one on the Rockies. The Rockies are idiots for making that offer.
Bryant was kind of at the bottom of the pile for the Big Name Free Agents, and Dick Monfort had been all googly eyed for him leading up to the 2013 draft. But then the Cubs picked Bryant. And Dick Monfort wanted Kris Bryant.
So Dick Monfort got his guy. Didn’t even sound like there was much of a negotiation. The Rockies got their “hasn’t been elite since 2019” guy for the price of a far better player – results-wise, anyhow. Didn’t matter what the scouting or projections said, Dick Monfort wanted to add Kris Bryant, a Guy He Likes (TM), to his menagerie of mediocre-at-best baseball.
Like seriously, we’re the Applebees of baseball.
Now excuse me, I think Zac Veen changed his hair color again, and I don’t wanna miss Michael Toglia get another hat trick while also making a heroic stretch @1B to finish a double play that ends the inning, Rockies down 7-2.
Sadly I think Kris is done . Back issues are so hard to get passed especially playing baseball.
I feel so bad for him but I’m happy cubs weren’t stuck with a big contract
Inflammatory shots for the back ain’t gonna do 💩 the way his back is. If really has degenerative lumbar discs even surgery won’t help. Dude is done
Dumbest Internet comment today. Owners are responsible for driving up the salaries to begin with.
He’s making some decent coin for being a below replacement level player.