237 billion hits, more injuries, less… Free agency crash, Colorado disaster, five more years to go

Kris Bryant, 31, once considered one of the biggest stars in baseball, has become a free agent disaster for the Colorado Rockies. He is in the second year of a seven-year, $182 million contract with no sign of rebounding.

Colorado placed Bryant on the disabled list on Feb. 2. According to MLB.com, “Bryant’s painful stint with the Rockies continues as he was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left heel contusion. The injury occurred on March 31 against the Arizona Diamondbacks when he was hit by his own foul pitch. Colorado manager Bud Black said the injury was “unrelated to the plantar fasciitis he suffered last year.”

Bryant signed a seven-year, $182 million free-agent contract with Colorado in March last year, but played just 42 games in his first year and missed a whopping 120 games. An April back injury last year reoccurred in May, landing him on the injured reserve list, and after the final game in July, he was lost for the season with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

This year, he spent the first two months of the season healthy and injury-free, but his numbers didn’t add up. In 50 games, he’s batting just 2-for-6 with five homers, 17 RBIs and a .719 OPS in 190 at-bats, the lowest mark of his nine-season career, excluding 2020, which was a coronavirus-shortened season. His WAR per Baseball Reference is -0.5, which is worse than nothing.

There’s no Coors Field effect in Colorado. Located at 10,000 feet above sea level, Coors Field is a hitter-friendly ballpark with a low air density 스포츠토토 that increases the distance of batted balls. But this year, Bryant is batting just 2-for-58 (24-for-93) with three home runs, 10 RBI, and a .747 OPS in 24 games at Coors Field, compared to a .291 batting average and .832 OPS for the rest of the league.

CBS Sports in the U.S. also noted, “Bryant was hitting for average to start the season, but that has dropped to 2-for-6. He has just five home runs in 50 games, and his on-base percentage is an abysmal .374. Adjusted OPS 87, WAR -0.5.” “Injuries always take away power, but I think there’s more to it than that. He doesn’t hit as hard as he used to, and he tends to pull too much. I wonder if he’s having mental issues.

A former highly touted prospect who was selected by the Cubs with the second overall pick in the first round of the 2013 draft, Bryant burst onto the scene in 2015 as the National League Rookie of the Year and then led the Cubs to a World Series title in 2016 with MVP honors. His good looks and star power exploded, and in 2017, he became the No. 1 selling jersey in Major League Baseball.

His rise to the top of the league was short-lived. He was named to the All-Star team four times, but his performance continued to decline after 2017. Colorado, which acquired Bryant as a free agent in a trade for franchise third baseman Nolan Arenado (St. Louis), was the only team to lose. The Rockies are 24-34 (.414 winning percentage) through two days and are no better than fifth place in the National League West than they were last year.