How Rockies Could Use Anthony Rendon Solution for Kris Bryant Contract

It’s unclear if Kris Bryant will be able to resume his Colorado Rockies career. If he can’t, they must find a way to deal with his contract.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Kris Bryant (23) during the eighth inning against the Athletics at Coors Field. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Kris Bryant’s contract hangs over the Colorado Rockies like a dark cloud.

Since he signed the seven-year, $182 million deal with Colorado before the 2022 season, he’s played just 170 out of a possible 648 games due to various injuries. The one keeping him off the field right now is problematic. He’s suffering from lumbar degenerative disk disease.

He’s already had an ablation procedure on the back, which interrupts pain signals being sent from the back to the brain. He’s even consulted with a doctor in Dallas for a consultation on what he called an “experimental treatment” that would falls just shy of surgery.

The ideal solution would be for Bryant to play out the final three seasons of his contract. That would require him to be relatively healthy. A degenerative disk disease may keep that from happening. But, because his contract is guaranteed, Colorado owes him the remaining $78 million no matter what.

So, what can Colorado do? The Los Angeles Angels provided a blueprint on Tuesday.

A Rockies Road Map for Dealing with Kris Bryant’s Contract

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, the Angels and third baseman Anthony Rendon agreed to defer the final year of his contract, giving the franchise some relief from a contract that has similarly hung over that franchise like an albatross. He signed a seven-year, $245 million deal before the 2020 season. Per multiple reports, he’s owed $38 million and he will not play in 2026. He will have played just 245 games for the Angels.

It’s not yet clear how long the Angels will defer the money, but it gives the franchise a bit of relief from his deal. Is it possible Colorado could do the same?

To get Rendon’s deal approved, the Angels had to get Major League Baseball, the MLB Players’ Association and his agent, Scott Boras to approve. The Rockies would likely need the same set of approvals for any redistribution of Bryant’s deal.

If all parties can get there, it’s a question of how to defer it. He’s supposed to make $26 million each of the next three years. If Bryant can’t play this year and Colorado wants to find a way out, it could spread the remainder of the deal over, perhaps, seven years and $11.1 million per year. That would give the Rockies some relief as they attempt to rebuild the team.

If Bryant can play, the Rockies would love nothing more than for him to resemble his lifetime slash of .273/.368/.483. But whether he’s healthy enough to do that is unclear. After Rendon’s deal, at least there could be a way for the Rockies to lessen the long-term pain if Bryant can’t return.

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