Family moments fuel Bryant's desire to recapture old magic

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Rockies Kris Bryant’s reminders of the magic of baseball often come from his nearly 5-year-old son.

“I’ll toss him balls in the backyard and he’ll announce himself … ‘Number 23, Kyler Bryant,’” Bryant said Monday, the day before Colorado’s first full-squad Spring Training workout at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. “Stuff like that, it’s like, man, it comes full circle. I remember when I was his age, growing up, hitting off a tee playing baseball, and now I’m here. You’re so grateful for that.”

Injuries, mostly to his back, have limited Bryant to just 159 games played and minimal production in the first three seasons of a seven-year, $182 million contract he signed with the Rockies in March 2022. At the end of last year, when he made just 37 appearances, Bryant, club personnel and his own fitness team came up with a plan to stabilize the back in hopes that he can be on the field -- the first, necessary step if he is to return to the production of his early career with strong Cubs teams.

He reported that, “I still have bad days. I have great days. I have good days. Those are all part of it, and it’s just a matter of continuing with the routine that I’ve established.”

Most of all, he has those Kyler Bryant moments, when he’s a kid who anticipates doing something special every time his name is announced.

“I’ve felt that every day throughout the offseason,” said Bryant, who’s projected to be designated hitter for home games and play some outfield on the road. “There have been swings when I’m like, ‘This is great. This is exactly how I want to feel.’ And there are swings in the session where I was like, ‘This is terrible.’ That’s just baseball. We all go through it.

“Like my BP today, I wasn’t happy with it. But I hit in the cage the other day and I was like, ‘This is amazing.’ Baseball players are sick. We’re sick individuals. We all have a different thought process. We’re always chasing the next, best thing.”

Bryant did most of his work in his hometown of Las Vegas, with a little training in the higher-than-Denver altitude of Lake Tahoe, Nev.

“It wasn’t just because of the altitude,” he said. “I like going up there.”

All the work and the monitoring from club personnel doesn’t guarantee anything. Bryant’s previous injuries left him with discs that don’t function as well as before, bone spurs and arthritic facet joints. But by stabilizing core muscles and working on a proper maintenance routine, Bryant has a shot to be the Rockies’ veteran lineup cog he was signed to be.

“Health is such a big determinant of anybody with talent,” manager Bud Black said. “Kris just hasn’t been right since he’s been here for a couple of different injuries. Where he is age wise, there's a high degree of pride and motivation to make this right and to get on the field and play. I don't think you lose that where he is in his career.”

Outfielder Nolan Jones has been through such a ringer -- a standout rookie year in 2023, followed by back and knee injuries and overall struggles in 2024 -- and pulls for Bryant, a mentor.

“What people don’t understand is there’s a human in there,” Jones said. “He’s not a superhero. We’re all humans and he wants to be on that field and contribute to a team as much as any guy in the locker room.”

The injuries and large contract have become unharmonious background music to Bryant’s Rockies career. Bryant works to sing a better tune to himself.

“I've been in terrible mindsets,” Bryant said. “I've been in great mindsets. I've known what works, what has worked for me and what hasn't, and I always find myself chasing what has worked for me.

“It just makes me feel better than reading about -- like you said in the past -- wins, losses, contract, this and that. No one's ever gonna feel good looking at things like that.”

Bryant joked that the four children he and his wife, Jessica, parent aren’t old enough to keep from joyously jumping into the arms and lap of a dad with back issues. And he would love to show them what he does when he doesn’t hurt.

“It's been a rough go of it for me lately,” Bryant said. “But I try to be a good role model, not just for my teammates and fans, young kids out there, but my kids too. That's the biggest job I have.

“And I want nothing more than to just go out there and dominate.”