Rockies 1B, former NL MVP diagnosed with internal oblique strain

Kris Bryant.

The Rockies received some unfortunate news regarding Kris Bryant today, as Bryant himself told reporters (including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding). Bryant was initially placed on the injured list earlier this month with a left rib contusion in what he had expected to be a fairly short stint on the shelf. Since, then, however, Bryant underwent an MRI after his soreness showed no improvement, and that testing revealed that the veteran was also dealing with an internal oblique strain. Bryant added that he has “no idea” when he’ll be able to return to action following the new diagnosis.

It’s the latest devastating setback in what has been an unbelievably difficult Rockies tenure for Bryant. The 32-year-old was selected second overall by the Cubs in the 2013 draft and rose to stardom almost immediately, capturing the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year award before winning the NL MVP award (and a drought-ending World Series championship) the following season. Over the course of six-and-a-half seasons in Chicago, Bryant made four trips to the All-Star Game and slashed an excellent .279/.378/.508 in 833 games and helped lead the Cubs to five postseason appearances, including three trips to the NLCS and the aforementioned championship run.

After a brief stint in San Francisco after the 2021 trade deadline, Bryant found himself on the open market for the first time in his career and managed to secure a seven-year, $182M deal with Colorado prior to the 2022 season. Unfortunately, that deal hasn’t panned out how either side was surely hoping it would. While Bryant’s first season in Colorado saw him hit a strong .306/.376/.475 with a 125 wRC+, he was limited to just 42 games that year by injuries.

Things have taken a turn for the worse since then, as Bryant has remained unable to stay on the field while also seeing his production suffer when he is healthy enough to play. Bryant has appeared in 104 games with the Rockies since the start of the 2023 campaign, and in his 436 trips to the plate with the club during that time he’s hit a paltry .223/.312/.347 that’s 30 percent worse than league average by measure of wRC+. That’s a slash line that would be difficult to stomach for any player, much less a $182M corner bat who hasn’t made an appearance at his previous home of third base since joining the Rockies.

Now, Bryant appears to be facing yet another lengthy absence after already making one trip to the injured list earlier this year due to a low back strain. It’s become increasingly clear throughout his Rockies tenure that injury woes appear likely to plague Bryant throughout the remainder of his playing career; as he told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post last month, he has dealt with disc problems in his back and “severe” arthritis that will continue to impact him throughout the remainder of his playing career in addition to his current oblique and rib issues.

Both the Rockies and Bryant are surely hoping he can not only rediscover the talent that made him one of the league’s best hitters during his time in Chicago, but also that he’ll be able to stay on the field often enough to showcase that talent. In the meantime, the Rockies figure to continue relying on Michael Toglia and Elehuris Montero to handle first base in Bryant’s absence while Toglia, Jake Cave, and Greg Jones mix and match in right field.

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