Kris Bryant: ‘It’s not easy waking up in pain every day’

Kris Bryant is starting his fifth year with the Colorado Rockies on the injured list and he doesn't know if there's a path forward

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

Feb 17, 2026, 10:56 AM

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Kris Bryant is starting his fifth year with the Colorado Rockies in a very similar way to how he’s spent most of his tenure with the franchise — on the injured list.

The difference this time? Even Bryant doesn’t know if there’s a path forward.

“It’s difficult, it’s not easy waking up in pain every day, so now we’re here, just trying to determine next steps while I’m here with the training staff and the doctors,” Bryant said Tuesday from the Rockies’ spring training facility in Scottsdale.

The 34-year-old slugger was placed on the 60-day injured list last week, ensuring he will miss at least the first 57 games of the 2026 season.

It’s become a grim annual ritual. Bryant continues to battle lumbar degenerative disc disease, a chronic condition that has reduced one of baseball’s brightest stars to a shell of himself since arriving in Colorado.

The numbers tell the story of a deal gone sideways. Since signing his seven-year, $182 million contract in 2022 — the largest in franchise history — Bryant has appeared in just 170 games over four seasons. He played in only 11 games last year before his back shut him down entirely, driving in a single run over 41 plate appearances.

Remember when Bryant was supposed to replace the long line of Rockies stars and become the team’s next centerpiece? That feels like a lifetime ago.

Last May, Bryant underwent an ablation procedure designed to interrupt pain signals traveling from his back to his brain. He hasn’t played since. The procedure was supposed to provide relief. Instead, here he is, meeting with doctors about what experimental options might remain.

Bryant’s contract carries an average annual value of $26 million — double that of any other Rockies player — and he’s still owed $78 million over the next three seasons. The deal has been called the worst in baseball, and it’s hard to argue otherwise when the player can barely get out of bed without wincing.

The Rockies have largely languished without him. Even though Bryant hasn’t even been good when actually playing, worth a -1.6 rWAR over his time in purple, the team is 72-98 (.424) with him and 159-319 (.333) without him since the start of 2022.

They’ve grown accustomed to his absence, building around young players while Bryant’s locker sits empty. Placing him on the 60-day IL was, in part, a roster move — the club needed to clear space to sign pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.

But what comes next for Bryant himself?

“Usually in the progression you start with the exercises, then you move to running,” Bryant said. “Any time my feet hit the ground, I just feel like I could probably fall over.”

If his back issues are deemed career-ending, the Rockies could potentially have the remaining balance of his contract covered by insurance. That’s the conversation nobody wants to have publicly, but it’s the one hovering over this entire situation. Colorado could also continue paying Bryant, hoping something changes, hoping some doctor somewhere finds an answer that has eluded everyone so far.

Bryant isn’t ready to give up. He’s in Scottsdale, after all, working with trainers and consulting with physicians. But the reality is stark: he’s a four-time All-Star, a 2016 World Series hero, an MVP — and he wakes up in pain every single day with no clear path to the field.

“There’s really not much to say about it, other than the guy’s back really, really hurts, and he’s having a tough time progressing,” Warren Schaeffer said. “We have to prepare like he’s not going to play. That’s just the way that we have to go about it — hoping that he has a recovery, a breakthrough.”

The saddest part? At this point, nobody is even surprised anymore.