Bryant not ready to 'give up' yet despite injuries

DENVER -- Rockies designated hitter Kris Bryant was sick and tired of his chronic back injury -- officially lumbar degenerative disc disease.

He was understandably tired of the debilitating pain -- sometimes arriving a couple days apart, sometimes arriving mid-game. Bryant, placed on the 10-day injured list last Monday and uncertain when he will feel good enough to return, has done all the tiring rehab, and it’s not producing consistent health. As for surgery, “the doctors aren’t there yet,” he said ahead of Colorado's doubleheader vs. the Nationals.

The pain, compromised play (.154, 0 HR, 1 RBI) in 11 games he played in various levels of back misery, the two anti-inflammatory shots he received on Tuesday, and every rehab method but surgery are all tiring.

Then there’s the sick part.

“I want to see all my options, too, so that I’m not, like, in constant pain and nauseous, where I can’t eat, which was the situation today,” Bryant said on Sunday, after trudging through his back exercise program on Saturday. “I woke up not feeling great.

“It’s just extremely frustrating.”

Bryant, 33, is in the fourth unhealthy year of a seven-year, $182 million contract the Rockies signed him to, with the idea of having a star to keep the team competitive while it switched to a younger roster.

Bryant’s unavailability isn’t the sole reason for 100-plus loss seasons the last two years, and a club-record worst 3-16 record going into Sunday’s doubleheader. The roster is mostly inexperienced players, and -- especially with shortstop Ezequiel Tovar on the 10-day injured list with a left hip contusion, and center fielder Brenton Doyle away on bereavement leave -- devoid of a player who is bursting onto the scene the way Bryant did many seasons back with the Cubs.

Given the choice between his current plight and going through the hard times on the field, Bryant is clear.

“Baseball is such a funny game where you almost have to enjoy the struggles, right?” Bryant said. “This game is so hard, if you continue to beat yourself up and get down when you are struggling, it’s hard to pull yourself back up out of that hole.

“And if this game was easy, if everything was perfect for you, then nobody would want to do it. So, I know we’re going through it right now. But just enjoy the fact that we’re able to be on a baseball field and put on a costume every day. And just try to stay positive.”

Manager Bud Black monitors Bryant’s struggle and offers positive words.

“I’m going to remain optimistic that KB is going to return, and hopefully he comes back healthy and ready to contribute,” Black said. “I still think there’s a hitter in there -- the hit tool and an on-base component.”

Bryant just has to get to the on-the-field component. Asked if he was thinking of leaving the sport, Bryant said, “I want to play. I want to talk to doctors, see if there’s anything else we can do. But, yeah, I want to not give up.”

Bryant was the potential go-ahead run with two out in the ninth at San Diego last Sunday. He hit a line drive to deep right field that ended up the final out of a 2-0 loss. The at-bat was the type to raise hopes. But the hope of health has been fleeting. Sometimes, it’s swinging the bat, sometimes running, sometimes even taking a lead off first base. All have had their moments of clinching lower-back pain. Then there’s the aftermath.

“It’s more the recovery part,” Bryant said. “I get through two at-bats and then I get to the third at-bat and I’m like, ‘Oh, this isn’t good.’ And then the fourth at-bat, I’m like, ‘I just got to get this at-bat over within the first couple of swings.’ And that’s not a great spot to be.

“I’m not doing myself or the team any good service if I don’t speak up. Then the next day you get up and it’s like, ‘I can’t move.’”