Bryant still hoping to return despite constant pain keeping him off field
Injured Colorado Rockies slugger Kris Bryant is still hoping to find a way back to the diamond despite the degenerative back condition that's derailing his career.
But the former MVP admitted he has no idea if he'll be able to play baseball again.
"I don't really have the best answer for that, because I haven't really determined a plan, but I just am following their advice and their guidance, and obviously meeting with doctors," Bryant said Tuesday after reporting to spring training, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com. "I met with doctors in the offseason, just to get opinions. They pass them on to the training staff and then we determine how we go."
A slew of injuries have limited Bryant to 170 games since joining the Rockies on a seven-year, $182-million contract in 2022. But it's lumbar degenerative disc disease, which he was diagnosed with last April, that's affecting his life well beyond baseball.
Bryant opened up about his experience of the condition, in which damage to discs in the spine causes pain. He described his pain as constant and said it sometimes feels like "being electrocuted" in his entire body, according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.
"Any time my feet hit the ground, I feel like I could probably fall over," he added.
The 34-year-old has tried various methods to reduce the pain, ranging from an ablation procedure to Pilates, yet nothing has helped.
"You have to realize how tough this is for KB," Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said, per Harding. "There are various opinions out there, but it's really hard for him to not be able to play, to want to play, and to want to be able to feel good. It affects him at home. He wants to be a father with his kids, and he's having a tough time bending over."
Schaeffer conceded that the Rockies are preparing for life without Bryant in 2026. Bryant wouldn't entertain specific questions about retirement, stating he "doesn't want to go there" right now. All he's doing for the moment is hoping that the right treatment can be found to give him a chance to come back.
"Obviously, I have to (have hope). Because it's not just something I'm going to deal with now, I'm going to deal with this the rest of my life," he said, according to Saunders. "I've talked to a lot of people about it. I know a ton of people, not just playing baseball, but people who have terrible backs, too.
"I could never have expected this or seen this coming. And now that I'm dealing with it, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. It's miserable."