{"id":577985,"date":"2026-02-17T19:18:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/577985\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T19:18:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:18:20","slug":"kris-bryant-addresses-the-media-as-he-starts-2026-on-the-injured-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/577985\/","title":{"rendered":"Kris Bryant addresses the media as he starts 2026 on the injured list"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\">Spring training for the Rockies this year is surprisingly full of hope on multiple levels, but for Kris Bryant, last year\u2019s struggles continue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Bryant has been plagued with injuries since arriving in Colorado, but the most severe has been a debilitating degenerative lower back condition. Somedays Bryant is unable to lift even simple household items, let alone swing a bat and run the bases.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cSome days it\u2019s hard to grab the toothpaste in front of me,\u201d he told the media on Tuesday. \u201cIt\u2019s not like that every day, but those days it\u2019s like you just wish you had some type of answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Bryant reported to the Colorado Rockies complex in Scottsdale, Arizona today with the rest of the position players in preparation for the first full team workout of the spring. He is entering the fifth season of a seven-year, $182 million contract signed prior to the 2022 season following the departure of franchise stalwarts Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The former National League Rookie of the Year, MVP, and World Series champion vowed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2022\/03\/18\/kris-bryant-rockies-introduction\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the struggling Rockies could turn things around with his help;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">the struggling Rockies could turn things around with his help<\/a> when he first arrived. Now, after playing just 170 games to the tune of -1.6 wins above replacement, that vow has evaporated and Bryant is unsure of his own future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Bryant has undergone multiple treatments since his diagnosis, including a spinal ablation and multiple rounds of physical therapy. However, he hasn\u2019t performed any baseball activities since he was shut down last April and his progress has been limited.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cUsually in the progression you start with the exercises, then you move to running,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cAny time my feet hit the ground, I just feel like I could probably fall over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">While Bryant isn\u2019t ready to give up on returning to baseball just yet, it\u2019s difficult to foresee him back on the field when he describes the pain he experiences every day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cThere are a lot of different sensations I\u2019m feeling,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just feels like I\u2019m being electrocuted in my whole body. It\u2019s not ideal. It\u2019s pretty miserable. Maybe this is part of old age, even though I\u2019m not even old.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The 34-year-old Bryant is starting the season on the 60-day injured list and will likely return home to Las Vegas later this week to continue his treatments and search for a way to alleviate his pain. However, Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer suggested he will still have a presence with the club, even if he isn\u2019t playing.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cKB has done so much in this game, and he has gone through so many experiences; of course, he can help young players when he\u2019s around,\u201d Schaeffer said.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0to the benefit of the young players, just his willingness to talk with them about\u00a0hitting\u00a0in\u00a0certain situations and how to handle their business\u00a0on a daily basis.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0been through it at\u00a0a very high\u00a0level.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0done\u00a0big things\u00a0in this game.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no taking that away\u00a0and\u00a0there\u2019s huge value in that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Schaeffer also made sure the media knew Bryant has the team supporting him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cI know there\u00a0are\u00a0various opinions out there, but it\u2019s really hard for him to not be able to play, to want to play, and just not be able to feel good,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cIt affects him at home.\u00a0He wants to be a father to his kids, and\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0having a tough time\u00a0even\u00a0bending over.\u00a0It\u2019s just\u00a0a really hard thing to go through.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cEverybody in our clubhouse is going to support Kris Bryant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Despite a clear desire to return to baseball, Bryant has also avoided\u2014at least publicly\u2014addressing his future in depth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cI honestly try not to let myself get there, because when you\u2019re going through it every single day, you just try to make it day to day,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of people out there with chronic pain, you don\u2019t want to think so far in the future because you\u2019re just trying to get through the day. So I haven\u2019t let myself get there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Please keep in mind our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purplerow.com\/pages\/purple-row-rules-and-regulations\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Purple Row Community Guidelines;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Purple Row Community Guidelines<\/a>\u00a0when you\u2019re commenting. Thanks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spring training for the Rockies this year is surprisingly full of hope on multiple levels, but for Kris&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,167,52,1009,75769,402,4,1028,18,75768,1035],"class_list":{"0":"post-577985","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-colorado","10":"tag-colorado-rockies","11":"tag-coors-field","12":"tag-kevin-henry","13":"tag-kris-bryant","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-nolan-arenado","16":"tag-san-diego-padres","17":"tag-somedays-bryant","18":"tag-trevor-story"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116087587139610570","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}