Kris Bryant

Rockies Select Ryan Rolison, Transfer Kris Bryant To 60-Day IL

By Nick Deeds | May 11, 2025 at 11:05am CDT

The Rockies announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Ryan Rolison. Kris Bryant was transferred to the 60-day to make room for Rolison on the 40-man roster after he recently underwent an ablation procedure on his back. Colorado also announced that righty Anthony Molina has been recalled from Triple-A, while righties Bradley Blalock and Juan Mejia were optioned to Triple-A to make room for Rolison and Molina on the active roster.

Rolison, 27, was the Rockies’ first-round pick back in 2018 but has yet to make his major league debut. The southpaw’s career has been thrown off track by plenty of missed time. He missed the entire 2020 season due to the cancelled minor league season, missed multiple months in 2021 due to an appendectomy, and lost his entire 2022 campaign due to shoulder injuries. He returned in 2023 but once again battled shoulder problems, leaving him to make just four starts that season. Since then, he’s mostly pitched out of the bullpen for the Rockies, with a 4.67 ERA in 34 appearances at the Triple-A level over the past two years. That includes a solid 3.72 ERA with a 26.1% strikeout rate this year, however. With Rolison now finally in a groove after years of injury-marred campaigns, it seems the Rockies are going to take the opportunity to get their former first-round talent into a big league game for the first time in his career.

Moving off the 40-man roster to make room for Rolison is Bryant. It’s hardly a surprise to see the 33-year-old transferred to the 60-day IL given the seriousness of the procedure he underwent this past week to try and alleviate the chronic back pain stemming from his chronic lumbar degenerative disc disease. Ablation destroys the nerves in an area causing pain in an effort to eliminate pain signals from that area. As Bryant told reporters (including Patrick Lyons of Just Baseball Media) yesterday, he won’t resume baseball activities for a “couple weeks” before beginning to ramp up as is feasible in terms of pain tolerance. That leaves him with no concrete timetable for his return, but he did make clear he hopes to return to the field during the 2025 season.

Regardless of when Bryant ultimately ends up returning, 2025 already appears to be the latest in a string of seasons where the former MVP has been derailed by injuries. The veteran was among the game’s perennial All-Stars as recently as 2021 and carried a .278/.376/.504 career slash line into the 2022 season. After signing a seven-year deal with the Rockies during the 2021-22 offseason, however, Bryant has appeared in just 170 games total while slashing a well below-average .244/.324/.370. With Bryant having returned -1.6 bWAR/-1.8 fWAR at the halfway mark in his contract, it’s hard to imagine the deal being anything other than a bust for the Rockies once all is said and done.

Even so, with three seasons and $81MM left on the contract after 2025, the Rockies are surely hoping that Bryant can eventually get healthy enough to be a legitimate contributor before his contract comes to a close. While the sort of production that earned him the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2015 and the MVP award the following season is unlikely to be in the cards at this point, it’s not impossible to imagine Bryant being able to get back to being an above-average hitter; after all, he did manage to hit a solid .306/.376/.475 in 42 games with the Rockies back in 2022.

As for the club’s other roster moves, Molina joins the big league roster for the first time this year after pitching to a 6.79 ERA in 35 relief outings for the Rockies last year. Mejia made his MLB debut earlier this year and sports a 4.70 ERA across six appearances, while Blalock is in his second MLB season but has struggled to a 12.94 ERA in 16 innings of work for Colorado this year.

Kris Bryant To Undergo Ablation Procedure On Back

By Anthony Franco | May 7, 2025 at 8:36pm CDT

Kris Bryant is headed for an ablation procedure on his lower back tomorrow, Rockies manager Bud Black tells reporters (including Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post). The skipper called it “a minimally invasive procedure” and expressed optimism that Bryant could resume baseball activities within a few days.

It’s nevertheless the latest frustration as Bryant tries to manage his persistent back pain. He has been out since April 14 with what the team called lumbar degenerative disc disease. It’s the ninth injured list placement of the former MVP’s three-plus seasons in Colorado. Six of them have been related to his back and/or side. Bryant also battled left foot issues early in his Rox tenure and fractured a finger in 2023.

Bryant owns a .244/.324/.370 slash line over 170 games in a Colorado uniform. The Rockies used him exclusively at designated hitter early this season to reduce his workload. He hit .154 with two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 11 games. This is the fourth season of his seven-year, $182MM free agent deal. Bryant unsurprisingly made clear last month that he’s not thinking about retirement.

Black provided a few other injury updates this evening (via Thomas Harding of MLB.com). Infielders Ezequiel Tovar and Thairo Estrada are ramping up baseball activities, while starter Austin Gomber has pushed his long toss regimen to 90 feet. It’s most relevant regarding Gomber, who has been out all season with shoulder inflammation. He opened the season on a rehab assignment but suffered a setback that necessitated a move to the 60-day IL last month. Gomber received a platelet-rich plasma injection and is back throwing, though he’s still a ways off another rehab stint.

Kris Bryant Discusses “Extremely Frustrating” Back Injuries

By Mark Polishuk | April 20, 2025 at 11:18pm CDT

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.

Rockies Place Kris Bryant On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | April 14, 2025 at 6:05pm CDT

The Rockies announced that they have placed Kris Bryant on the 10-day injured list due to lumbar degenerative disc disease. Catcher Braxton Fulford had his contract selected to take Bryant’s place on the roster. Right-hander Jeff Criswell was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot for Fulford. Criswell had Tommy John surgery last month and will miss the entire season. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported the Bryant and Fulford moves prior to the official announcement.

Injuries have been the defining feature of Bryant’s time in Colorado. He is now in his fourth season as a member of the Rockies but hasn’t surpassed 80 games in any of those campaigns. His first season in the mountains, 2022, he hit well but only got into 42 contests. Since then, he has not only been frequently sidelined but also ineffective when in the lineup. He has a .222/.307/.335 batting line over the 2023-25 seasons and is out to a brutal .154/.195/.205 start so far in 2025.

His injury absences have been due to various ailments, including a heel bruise, finger fracture and rib contusion, but back problems have been an ongoing feature as well. In 2022, he spent over a month on the IL due to a lower back strain. A back strain also kept him out of action for almost two months at the end of the 2024 campaign.

Whether those various back problems are all interconnected or not is unknown. The club also hasn’t provided much information on this current diagnosis or what they expect in terms of prognosis. More information will surely emerge tonight or in the coming days.

Either way, it just further compounds the point that Bryant has been an awful investment for the club. Prior to coming to Colorado, he had done it all. He was a Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, All-Star and World Series champion. He had a .278/.376/.504 batting line through 2021. He hit free agency and landed a seven-year, $182MM deal with the Rockies.

Even at the time, it was a bit of a head-scratcher. The Rockies had just wrapped up their third straight losing season and near-term contention didn’t seem highly likely. Some were calling for a rebuild at that time, but they went in another direction by making this big investment. As mentioned, it hasn’t worked out, and the club hasn’t gotten any better. They lost 94 games in 2022 and got to triple digits in each of the past two seasons. They are the worst team in baseball so far this season with a 3-12 record.

Bryant had largely been serving as the designated hitter, so the club will have some options now in who they give those at-bats to. The fact that they have called up a catcher perhaps indicates that Hunter Goodman might move out from behind the plate more often. He has been splitting the catching duties with Jacob Stallings but now perhaps could take the DH slot or move to the outfield, where he has some experience.

Fulford, 26, was a sixth-round pick of the Rockies in 2021. Back in January, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs gave him an honorable mention on his list of the top prospects in the system, noting that he has poor defense and contact hitting but good power. In his 1,219 minor league plate appearances, he has hit .265/.375/.455 with 40 home runs. He struck out at a 25.1% clip last year and is at 27.3% so far this year. Given his bat-first tendencies, perhaps Goodman will stay in the catching mix while Fulford takes some DH time.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

NL West Notes: Gonsolin, Freeman, Bryant, Snell

By Mark Polishuk | September 28, 2024 at 2:43pm CDT

Unless “something really unforeseen” happens, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Tony Gonsolin probably isn’t going to be part of the team’s postseason roster. Gonsolin underwent Tommy John surgery about 13 months ago and was considered a longshot to pitch any big league innings this season, though Gonsolin did return in time to pitch 7 2/3 innings over three Triple-A rehab appearances. As Roberts implied to the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters, however, Gonsolin is still viewed by the Dodgers as something of an emergency option, as it would be asking a lot of any pitcher who go from a year of inactivity right into the tension of important postseason relief innings.

While Gonsolin likely won’t factor into the L.A. playoff plans, Roberts was less concerned about Freddie Freeman’s bad ankle, as the manager was very optimistic Freeman would be ready for the start of the NLDS a week from today. Freeman suffered a sprained ankle in the Dodgers’ 7-2 win over the Padres on Thursday, and was seen on crutches and in a walking boot later that night. X-rays were negative on the ankle, however, and Freeman benefits from some extra time off before the Dodgers play their first postseason game.

Kris Bryant “Questionable” To Return From Injured List This Year

By Nick Deeds | September 8, 2024 at 8:22am CDT

Rockies outfielder Kris Bryant has spent most of the 2024 season on the injured list, and his latest trip to the shelf due to a strained back began early last month. Manager Bud Black provided an update to reporters (including Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post) regarding Bryant’s status prior to the club’s game against the Brewers yesterday, and it seems to be possible that Bryant won’t return from the IL before the end of the year.

Black indicated that Bryant’s back, which is plagued by chronic disc problems and severe arthritis at this point in his career, is doing “better” and that the 32-year-old is “feeling good” at this point, but there’s been no indication that Bryant has resumed baseball activities at this point. With just three weeks remaining in the regular season and the 53-90 Rockies eliminated from playoff contention, it’s not clear if Bryant will be able to return this season. Black’s comments on the matter backed up that assessment as he described Bryant’s status as “questionable,” referencing the term used in the injury reports of other sports leagues like the NFL, while acknowledging that the club is “running out of time” to get Bryant back onto the field.

If Bryant doesn’t return to the field this season, he’ll finish the year with just 37 games played and a lackluster .218/.323/.301 slash line in 155 trips to the plate this year. The former superstar once seemed to be on a Hall of Fame track when he won NL Rookie of the Year in his debut 2015 season before following it up with the 2016 NL MVP award, but after slashing .278/.376/.504 (134 wRC+) in the first seven years of his career with the Cubs and Giants his career has taken a nosedive due to injuries ever since he signed a seven-year, $182MM deal with the Rockies prior to the 2022 campaign. He’s only been able to play 159 games in the three seasons since he first donned the purple and black, with a disappointing .250/.332/.381 (88 wRC+) line during that time.

According to Saunders, it’s unclear whether there would be regular playing time available to Bryant down the stretch this year even if he were to make it back from the injured list. Michael Toglia has locked down first base in Bryant’s absence after hitting a scorching .255/.368/.516 with ten home runs in his last 47 games, and Nolan Jones won’t be vacating left field to make room for Bryant either as the 26-year-old searches for the form that earned him a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting last year amid a down season.

It’s possible he could find playing time between right field and DH if he returns, but with 14-year Rockies veteran Charlie Blackmon in the midst of what could be the 38-year-old DH’s final season in Colorado and top 100 prospect Jordan Beck trying to establish himself as an option for the club in right field headed into 2025, it’s not difficult to imagine a scenario where Bryant struggles to find playing time even if he were to return to the field before the 2024 campaign comes to a close. That said, there have been starts in the outfield corners afforded to bench players like Jake Cave and Sam Hilliard in recent weeks that Bryant could theoretically take on if he were to return to the roster in the coming weeks.

Rockies Place Kris Bryant On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | August 12, 2024 at 5:15pm CDT

The Rockies made a few moves before tonight’s series opener in Arizona. Most notably, Kris Bryant is headed back to the injured list. Colorado placed the former MVP on the 10-day IL, retroactive to August 11, with a back strain. Colorado recalled rookie outfielder Jordan Beck in his place. The Rox also brought up righty Bradley Blalock, whom they acquired from Milwaukee in the Nick Mears trade, while optioning southpaw Josh Rogers to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Bryant goes on the injured list for the eighth time in his Colorado tenure. It’s his third such stint of the season. Bryant lost a month last year to a different back strain. He dealt with another core issue this summer, as an internal oblique strain kept him out between June 3 and July 23. Bryant hit .277/.352/.340 over 13 games before landing back on the shelf.

Since signing with Colorado on a seven-year free agent deal, Bryant has hit .250/.332/.382 across 671 plate appearances. He has appeared in 159 of the Rox’s 443 games (just under 36%) since signing. That’s not the only reason that Colorado is headed for a fourth consecutive last place finish, yet it’s hard to envision a much worse start to the biggest free agent investment in franchise history.

Colorado has alternated Bryant and Charlie Blackmon between right field and designated hitter over the last few weeks. Blackmon is at DH with Jake Cave and Sam Hilliard splitting the corner outfield work tonight. The 23-year-old Beck — a former top 40 draft pick out of Tennessee — rejoins the group and should probably get regular playing time down the stretch. Beck hasn’t hit over his first 23 major league games, but he’s raking at a .319/.402/.558 clip over 39 contests in Albuquerque. That’s excellent production even in an extremely hitter-friendly setting.

As for Blalock, he’s in position to make his team debut. He has made two starts with Double-A Hartford since the trade. Blalock made his big league debut with Milwaukee in June. He has otherwise spent the season in Double-A, turning in a 4.36 ERA over 18 starts. He could work as rotation depth or in a long relief capacity for whatever time he’s on the MLB roster.

Rockies Place Nolan Jones On 10-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | July 13, 2024 at 5:10pm CDT

The Rockies announced that outfielder Nolan Jones has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a low back strain. The placement is retroactive to July 12. With right-hander Tanner Gordon also optioned to Triple-A yesterday, Colorado called up outfielder Sean Bouchard from Triple-A and right-hander Angel Chivilli from Double-A Hartford.

Since Jones was scratched from yesterday’s lineup, it isn’t a surprise to see him head to the IL with what appears to be a recurrence of the same back problem that has already taken a big chunk out of the outfielder’s season. Jones missed over six weeks in his first IL stint and returned to action almost exactly a month ago. While Jones’ numbers post-IL stint are better than his rough numbers in April before he was sidelined, he has still produced only a 64 wRC+ from a .202/.311/.313 slash line in 191 total plate appearances.

It has been a big dropoff from the .297/.389/.542 slash line Jones posted over 424 PA last season, as he also marked his first season in Colorado by hitting 20 homers and stealing 20 bases (from 24 attempts). This production led to a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting for Jones, making him a bright spot in an otherwise rough season for the Rockies, and a potential building block for the future.

This year’s results don’t necessarily change that path since Jones’ back issues have clearly had some impact on his play, but obviously the Rox wanted to see Jones continue to build on his 2023 breakout. There’s still time for Jones to return from the IL and have a big enough finish to at least end 2024 on a high note, and re-establish himself as less of a question mark heading into next season.

In other Rockies injury news, Kris Bryant is “highly likely” to start a minor league rehab assignment on Friday, manager Bud Black told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post and other reporters. Bryant hasn’t played since June 2, as a rib contusion and then an internal oblique strain are the latest health issues to arise during what has been a nightmarish run of injuries during Bryant’s two-plus seasons in Colorado. After playing in only 42 games in 2022 and then 80 games last season, Bryant has been limited to 24 games this season due to his current IL placement and a previous IL trip due to a lower back strain.

Kris Bryant Diagnosed With Internal Oblique Strain

By Nick Deeds | June 15, 2024 at 7:27pm CDT

The Rockies received some unfortunate news regarding Kris Bryant today, as Bryant himself told reporters (including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding). Bryant was initially placed on the injured list earlier this month with a left rib contusion in what he had expected to be a fairly short stint on the shelf. Since, then, however, Bryant underwent an MRI after his soreness showed no improvement, and that testing revealed that the veteran was also dealing with an internal oblique strain. Bryant added that he has “no idea” when he’ll be able to return to action following the new diagnosis.

It’s the latest devastating setback in what has been an unbelievably difficult Rockies tenure for Bryant. The 32-year-old was selected second overall by the Cubs in the 2013 draft and rose to stardom almost immediately, capturing the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year award before winning the NL MVP award (and a drought-ending World Series championship) the following season. Over the course of six and a half seasons in Chicago, Bryant made four trips to the All Star game and slashed an excellent .279/.378/.508 in 833 games and helped lead the Cubs to five postseason appearances, including three trips to the NLCS and the aforementioned championship run.

After a brief stint in San Francisco after the 2021 trade deadline, Bryant found himself on the open market for the first time in his career and managed to secure a seven-year, $182MM deal with Colorado prior to the 2022 season. Unfortunately, that deal hasn’t panned out how either side was surely hoping it would. While Bryant’s first season in Colorado saw him hit a strong .306/.376/.475 with a 125 wRC+, he was limited to just 42 games that year by injuries.

Things have taken a turn for the worse since then, as Bryant has remained unable to stay on the field while also seeing his production suffer when he is healthy enough to play. Bryant has appeared in 104 games with the Rockies since the start of the 2023 campaign, and in his 436 trips to the plate with the club during that time he’s hit a paltry .223/.312/.347 that’s 30% worse than league average by measure of wRC+. That’s a slash line that would be difficult to stomach for any player, much less a $182MM corner bat who hasn’t made an appearance at his previous home of third base since joining the Rockies.

Now, Bryant appears to be facing yet another lengthy absence after already making one trip to the injured list earlier this year due to a low back strain. It’s become increasingly clear throughout his Rockies tenure that injury woes appear likely to plague Bryant throughout the remainder of his playing career; as he told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post last month, he has dealt with disc problems in his back and “severe” arthritis that will continue to impact him throughout the remainder of his playing career in addition to his current oblique and rib issues.

Both the Rockies and Bryant are surely hoping he can not only rediscover the talent that made him one of the league’s best hitters during his time in Chicago, but also that he’ll be able to stay on the field often enough to showcase that talent. In the meantime, the Rockies figure to continue relying on Michael Toglia and Elehuris Montero to handle first base in Bryant’s absence while Toglia, Jake Cave, and Greg Jones mix and match in right field.

Rockies Recall Greg Jones For MLB Debut

By Steve Adams | June 6, 2024 at 2:00pm CDT

2:00pm: The Rockies have now made the official announcement, recalling Jones and Toglia while placing both Bryant and Bouchard on the 10-day IL. Bryant’s ailment is listed as a left rib contusion while Bouchard’s is a right ankle sprain.

1:08pm: The Rockies are set to recall infielder/outfielder Greg Jones from Triple-A Albuquerque for what’ll be his major league debut, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Jones is already with the club in St. Louis, and the Rockies appear set to place not only Kris Bryant (as reported yesterday) but also fellow outfielder Sean Bouchard on the injured list. Harding notes that Bouchard, who exited last night’s game with an apparent foot or ankle injury after running out a sacrifice bunt (video link), was on crutches in the clubhouse prior to the game.

Acquired from the Rays in a spring training trade sending pitching prospect Joe Rock to Tampa Bay, the 26-year-old Jones was the No. 22 overall pick in the 2019 draft. After impressing with a 2019 run in Low-A and a 2021 run in High-A, his bat stalled out in Double-A and Triple-A, however, and his prospect stock tumbled accordingly. Jones had a rebound last year when he slashed .278/.344/.467 in a hitter-friendly Triple-A setting (101 wRC+), which was enough to pique Colorado’s interest and bring about that offseason swap.

While Jones spent about a month on the injured list this season, he’s gotten into 20 Triple-A games and taken 89 plate appearances, batting .240/.360/.387 with a hefty 12.4% walk rate against an also sizable 28.1% strikeout rate. Jones has popped two home runs and, despite his limited time on the field, already swiped 15 bases in 16 attempts. He’s played both shortstop and center field in Albuquerque this year, spending more time at the latter of the two.

Strikeouts have been an issue for Jones throughout his minor league tenure, but scouting reports have credited him as a 70- or even 80-grade runner with a plus arm and huge athleticism. Injuries have regularly kept him off the field though, and paired with the lost minor league season in 2020, Jones has just 293 professional games despite being drafted nearly five years ago.

Those roadblocks in his development have left him rougher around the edges than most 26-year-old minor leaguers, but there’s a clear collection of impressive tools in his skill set if he can eventually hone his bat-to-ball skills with more reps. Doing so at the game’s top level will be a challenge in and of itself, but with Bouchard and Bryant likely headed to the IL alongside outfielders Nolan Jones and Jordan Beck, the Rockies aren’t exactly teeming with outfield options. Michael Toglia is already expected to take Bryant’s spot on the big league club, and Jones is the only other outfielder on Colorado’s 40-man roster.

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