Rockies Latest Kris Bryant Move Continues Drag on Franchise's Future

The Colorado Rockies made a procedural move to start spring training, and it means their high-priced slugger won’t play until at least May.

Colorado Rockies designated hitter Kris Bryant. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies needed room on its 40-man roster to start spring training and made an inevitable move, putting Kris Bryant on the 60-day injured list, per the team.

The Rockies signed pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano to a Major League deal, and because the 40-man roster was full they needed space. When spring training begins, teams can put injured players on the 60-day IL, which takes them off the 40-man roster. By putting him on the 60-day IL now, that clears the space and means he will miss at least the first 57 games of the season.

Colorado listed him with lumbar degenerative disk disease.

Kris Bryant’s Cloudy Rockies Future

Colorado Rockies designated hitter Kris Bryant. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Bryant played just 11 games last season due to the disk disease and spent the rest of the season trying to get healthy. He had an ablation procedure on the back and met with doctors in Dallas about experimental procedures. But, as it is a degenerative condition, the only solution may be surgery, which could curtail or even end his career.

A month out from spring training, general manager Josh Byrnes was quoted as saying that he hadn’t heard “anything definitive” about Bryant’s future.

Colorado signed Bryant to one of the biggest contracts in team history before the 2022 season — seven years, $182 million. It’s now up to president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes to navigate the final three years of Bryant’s deal — and his health issues.

His deal is worth an average annual value of $26 million per year. Pitcher Kyle Freeland is the team’s next-highest paid player at $12.9 million. Freeland is healthy and has reported to spring training.

Before arriving in Colorado, Bryant was with the Chicago Cubs (2015-21) and the San Francisco Giants (2021). He was named the 2015 NL rookie of the year, the 2016 NL MVP, won a World Series ring that season with the Cubs and was selected to four All-Star teams. He hit 167 of his 184 career home runs before 2022 when he arrived in Denver. He was one of a few former Cubs that wasn’t at a January gathering of the 2016 championship team and he skipped Rockies Fest earlier this year.

In Colorado he’s played just 170 out of a possible 648 games due to injuries. With Colorado, he has slashed .244/.324/.370 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI.

It’s not clear what the Rockies will do with his contract if he cannot play. Recently, the Los Angeles Angels and Anthony Rendon arrived at a deal that deferred the final year of his contract and allowed the team to release him. That could be an option with Bryant.

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