Kris Bryant Begins Giving Colorado Rockies Return On Investment

Kris Bryant may never get back to his 2016 form.

Bryant won the National League MVP that season, a year after being the league’s Rookie of the Year and played a major role in the Chicago Cubs winning their first World Series title since 1908. Bryant has yet to have another season quite like that, though, and no longer seems to be on a Hall of Fame track.

That is why the Colorado Rockies’ decision to sign Bryant to a seven-year, $182-million contract in free agency during the 2021-22 raised more than a few eyebrows. The decision looked even worse last year when Bryant was limited to 42 games because of injuries in his first season in Denver.

However, Bryant is now healthy again. And while he may never match that magical ’16 season, he has become a key contributor for the Rockies.

The 31-year-old is hitting .306/.390/.468 with five home runs in 33 games while serving as the primary right fielder. He has been a ray of light for the Rockies, who are in last place in the National League West with a 14-22 record.

“Probably the most important thing for us is to have a healthy Kris Bryant,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He’s arguably our most impactful player because of all the things that he can do, especially offensively. He can hit for power and for average. He has quality at-bats and is a great situational hitter, which sets a good example for the rest of the lineup. He’s a good player. We could use more players like him.”

Though he did produce when able to play, the Rockies never consistently saw this version of Bryant a year ago when he was hobbled with a strained lower back and plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He had a .306/.376/.475 slash line in 42 games while hitting five home runs.

Being healthy has been a relief both physically and mentally for Bryant this year.

“It’s nice to get back to normal for myself,” Bryant said. “Injuries happened last year, and I didn’t see that coming but it’s nice to kind of feel healthy each and every game and keep trending in the right direction. I can just get back to baseball instead of spending so much time rehabbing. It’s a good feeling.”

The even-keeled Bryant downplays the idea of feeling any pressure about not being able to perform up to the standards of his contract last season. However, Black knows that watching so many games from the bench was hard on Bryant.

“First of all, every player wants to play, so last year was tough for Kris, really tough being on a new team and being injured,” Black said. “No player wants something like that to happen. So, it’s nice to see him a healthy Kris Bryant in the lineup every day and producing. He’s happy and we’re happy.”

Bryant has had no significant ailments so far this season and believes he is getting stronger by the day now that he is back to playing regularly.

“The more baseball you play, it’s almost like the better your body feels,” Bryant said. “You’re going to be sore here and there sometimes but when you take extended stretches off, it’s kind of hard to get back in a rhythm and feel really good. I feel really good right now. My body has adjusted to playing every day again.”

The fit between Bryant and the Rockies still feels somewhat odd.

Colorado granted star third baseman Nolan Arenado’s trade request before the 2021 season and shipped him to the St. Louis Cardinals then did not re-sign star shortstop Trevor Story following that season. The Rockies looked like a franchise in need of a rebuild but instead signed Bryant to the megadeal.

The Rockies aren’t significantly better this season, though they are 5-2 in May following a 7-20 April. The way Colorado has played lately reinforces Bryant’s belief in a resurgence for a franchise that has made only one World Series appearance in its 30-year history.

“When you get a good group of guys with good chemistry, it doesn’t really matter who has a better team or whatnot,” Bryant said. “You can just kind of go out there and surprise people. This last week, everybody here is having a whole lot of fun playing the game and cheering each other. It’s shown up in the win column lately, so hopefully we’ll keep that up and surprise some people.”