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Major League Baseball was attacked by the injury bug even before most players had reached Spring Training this season. On the first day of organized drills, star players Corbin Carroll or Arizona, Jackson Holliday of Baltimore and Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets all either showed up with, or suffered injuries to the same “hamate” bone in their hands before they’d finished unpacking their gear. Each will have surgery that could keep them out up to six weeks. In Carroll’s case, it’s knocking him out of the World Baseball Classic.

That’s very bad news for all three of those teams, each of whom have playoff aspirations this season. Injuries are part of the deal in MLB, but when it happens this early, you wonder if it’s a sign of things to come.

The Colorado Rockies have no such aspirations or long range concerns, coming off a 119-loss season and having a completely revamped front office. If this year’s young and rebuilding Rockies team somehow manages to keep from losing 100 or more games for the fourth straight season, it will be considered a monstrous success in the Rocky Mountain region.

News of Bryant Injury Doesn’t Hit Hard Anymore

So when the news came down on the first day of Rockies camp that Kris Bryant was being placed on the 60-day disabled list – again – it barely raised an eyebrow in Scottsdale or Denver.

Bryant, for those who may have forgotten, was more than likely damaged goods when he was signed by the Rockies. They gave him a seven-year, $182 million dollar contract right after the last collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players association was signed on the eve of the 2022 season. The upcoming 2026 season will count as the fifth year of the contract, even if Bryant stays on the injured list all season. Thus far, he’s played in just 170 games total for Colorado and collected just 154 hits, including 17 home runs during the first four years of his deal that’s paying him an annual average of $26 million per. Over the course of his time with the Rockies, the hobbled Bryant has been able to post just a negative WAR of -1.6.

Bryant Helped Cubs Break “The Curse”

These numbers are a far cry from his MVP season in 2016 when the former Chicago Cub posted a WAR of 7.3 while collecting 176 hits during his second season in the big leagues, the same season he led the Cubs to their first World Series championship in more than a century. Bryant was an All-Star two more times in Chicago before moving to the San Francisco Giants in a trade deadline deal in 2021.

When he arrived in Denver, the hope was Bryant would not only replace the traded Nolan Arenado at third base, but also serve as a mentor for a good number of young players the Rockies had high hopes for.

At issue is a lingering back problem that has prevented the former MVP from staying on the field for more than half a season at best. The diagnosis of arthritis isn’t one that makes any kind of comeback sound likely.

Bryant is officially scheduled to miss a minimum of 57 regular season games. Only his doctors know if it will be more than that.

Mark Knudson Mark is a former MLB pitcher for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies. He’s the only person ever to play high school, college and professional baseball in Colorado. Mark earned a BA in Technical Journalism from Colorado State University and has worked in radio, television and print sports media since 1994. He’s the co-author of “Pitching to the Corners” with former teammate Don August and the author of “Just Imagine,” a historical fiction novel about The Beatles.
Mark is currently a feature writer and columnist for Mile High Sports in Denver and recently joined the team at Heavy.com. Mark is also a high school baseball coach in the Denver area. More about Mark Knudson

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