As another losing season for the Rockies draws to a close, Kris Bryant remains a problem, not a solution. He’s intent on changing that.
But there’s no getting around the fact that Bryant has been a bust as the team’s highest-paid player. Many in the organization are frustrated, even if they won’t say it publicly.
Bryant says he knows what’s at stake and understands why so many are disappointed.
“I am trying to convey to you, and the fans, how awful I feel about this,” he said Friday afternoon in the dugout before the Rockies’ hosted the Dodgers at Coors Field.
Bryant was, by turns, emotional, determined, frustrated and optimistic. But the 32-year-old insisted that he is not contemplating retirement despite a chronic back condition that has made him a ghost of the great player he once was.
“No, absolutely no thoughts of (retiring),” he said. “I’m going to do all I can to get back out there. I don’t think I’m where I need to be, but I’m starting to see results.”
Back issues (disc problems and arthritis) and plantar fasciitis have kept Bryant off the field and in the training room. He played just 37 games this season, after 80 games last year and 42 in 2022, the first year of his seven-year, $182 million contract.
The math is ugly. When the season ends on Sunday, Bryant will have played in just 33% of the Rockies’ games since he signed the biggest free-agent deal in franchise history. In three seasons, Bryant has a 90 OPS+, which puts him 10 points below the statistically average MLB hitter.
He’s hit just 17 home runs. By comparison, he hit 39 homers in 2016 when he was named the National League MVP and helped lead the Cubs to a World Series title. He hit 26 in 2015 when he was NL Rookie of the Year.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it’s been terrible,” he said. “It’s been terrible on me, physically and emotionally. I feel like I’ve let a ton of people down.
“There is nobody who feels worse about this than me. There are a lot of nights when I’m upset, I’m depressed. I want to be out there with the guys. It sucks. I want to be on road trips, I want to play.”
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Bryant said he doesn’t listen to critics who bash him and rake the Rockies for signing him to such a massive contract. But he gets where they’re coming from.
“I feel guilty,” he said. “I’m human. I want to be there for the guys and I haven’t been. Man, that eats at me. I’m a human being, I’m not a robot. I have all of these emotions.”
Bryant said he’s always tried to meet others’ expectations, even back in elementary school. When he fails, he wears it.
“Throughout my career, all of these people, even some teammates, have looked at me like, ‘Oh, he’s got it all together,’ ” Bryant said. “They think, ‘He’s got a great family, he got straight A’s in high school. He was rookie of the year, MVP, all of that.’ But everybody has struggles in life.”
In response to his critics, Bryant said: “People who have those thoughts and say those things, I get it, man. I feel just as bad. This is not how I want this to go down. I’ve never been complacent with anything in my life. I am trying to be the best I can be.”
This is not just about baseball, Bryant said, it’s about his daily life.
“It got to the point that I was struggling just getting out of bed in the morning and I’d take a shower and think, ‘How can I play a game at 6:40 tonight?’ ” he said. “It was disheartening.”
For the past month, Bryant has been committed to an intense daily workout designed to strengthen his core and alleviate his back pain.
“The doctors have told me that I have to get my core as strong as I possibly can so that those muscles will take the pressure off my back,” he said. “I have been doing this for a solid month now and I feel really, really good. But, obviously, I haven’t tested it by playing baseball.”
The Rockies are encouraged, but they say Bryant must stay committed to the program if he wants to return to the field consistently. The Rockies plan to stay in close touch with him during the offseason when he moves back home to Las Vegas.
But, realistically, can Bryant ever become the offensive force the Rockies hoped they were getting when they signed him in 2022?
“Time will tell, but I’m hopeful,” general manager Bill Schmidt said.
Many Rockies players have undergone back surgery, including Hall of Famer Todd Helton, who had three of them in his 17-year career. Bryant hopes he can avoid going under the knife.
Bryant went to Los Angeles this summer to consult with Dr. Robert G. Watkins IV, a noted spine surgeon. Watkins confirmed that Bryant basically has no disc between the L4 and L5 vertebrae.
“I also have severe arthritis in my facet joint,” Bryant said. “In (Watkins’) opinion, the pain is coming from the discs, but it’s showing up in the facet joints because everything is connected.”
Watkins offered radiofrequency ablation (RFA) as a possible solution to Bryant’s pain. According to the Cleveland Clinic, radio waves are sent through a precisely placed needle to heat an area of the nerves and destroy tissue. The procedure prevents pain signals from being sent back to the brain.
“I don’t think I’m there yet, I feel like I’m getting good results with the treatments,” Bryant said.
Pain relief from ablation can last 6-12 months. For some people, the relief lasts a few years. Others may have only limited pain relief.
Bryant’s bottom line is that he wants to play baseball again, at a high level.
“I just want to be on the field again,” he said. “I miss competing. I haven’t played video games for years, but now I find myself playing when the kids are napping. I need some competition. I need that in my life. I totally miss baseball.”
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