A former MVP and World Series hero now faces a stark reality. Injuries threaten to derail his final years, a heartbreaking turn for a once-dominant star.
Kris Bryant is a legend in the streets of Chicago.
He came into the league as a top prospect and quickly became a star for the Chicago Cubs. In his first two seasons, Bryant won both the National League Rookie of the Year and the National League MVP awards.
During his 2016 MVP campaign, he hit .292 with 39 home runs, 35 doubles, 102 RBI, and eight stolen bases while finishing with a MLB-best 7.3 WAR. Those numbers helped him win the award by a landslide, receiving 29 of 30 first-place votes.
2016 was also the year that the Cubs won the World Series. Bryant was a helping hand in that World Series title after slashing .308/.400/.523 with three home runs, five doubles, and eight RBI across 17 postseason games.
Bryant will always be remembered as one of the key players who helped end the Cubs’ championship drought. He was a fan favorite and earned the city’s admiration for his great play over seven seasons with the team.
But Bryant’s career has taken a drastic turn since leaving Chicago.
The Cubs traded him at the 2021 Trade Deadline, and Bryant later signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the Colorado Rockies in the 2022 offseason. At the time, it seemed like a huge move for the Rockies.
Now, years later, it is considered one of the worst contracts in MLB history.
Bryant has played only 170 games in his first four years with the Rockies and appeared in just 11 games last year while dealing with chronic lumbar degenerative disc disease. That marked the second year in a row that he has played fewer than 40 games.
Bryant is now expected to miss the start of the 2026 season. The Rockies placed the 34-year-old on the 60-day injured list, meaning the earliest he could return to the field is late May.
However, it’s not a given that Bryant even plays this season. A few months ago, he said his back pain still affects his daily life, and the veteran has not played in a game since April 12.
It’s sad to see Bryant reach this point in his career because he was one of the best players in the game just a decade ago. He had an 18.4 WAR in his first three seasons and had the tools to be an elite baseball player for a long time.
His body simply failed him.
It’s heartbreaking that fans will never get to see Bryant at his full potential again. He’ll likely play out the rest of his contract with the Rockies and retire after the 2028 season. There’s also a chance he hangs it up early and works out some deal with Colorado to earn some of his remaining salary.
There's no doubt that Bryant will never be the same player he once was. But the former MVP will always be loved by the city of Chicago for bringing home a World Series title.