It’s no secret that the latter half of former Chicago Cubs superstar Kris Bryant’s career has not gone how he could have possibly planned. In fact, it’s been painful to see his decline as he’s spent more time on the injured list than he has on the baseball diamond.
Earlier this season, Bryant’s current team, the Colorado Rockies, put him on the IL again, this time with a degenerative back issue that seemed like it might be the end of his career. However, Bryant isn’t ready to call it quits yet. And he is, in fact, going ahead with a procedure that doesn’t sound remotely pleasant in order to try and keep his playing days going.
Ex-Cubs star Kris Bryant takes painful step in effort to keep career alive
The former Cubs star is set to go through an ablation procedure on Thursday, according to the Rockies’ official website. The procedure is rather aggressive: “It’s pretty intense,” Bryant told the site. “But it’s not a crazy recovery period. They actually go into the bone and try to kill the nerves to the vertebrae.”
Anytime someone starts talking about “killing the nerves,” it’s a safe bet that this is a drastic move. It sounds about as painful as possible. One would think Bryant will be numbed up, but when it comes to killing nerves, that doesn’t sound like something that won’t have some sort of pain following.
That he’s willing to go through this is a sign that, despite the fact that the former Cubs star has the reputation of being fragile, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get back on the field. The question, of course, is whether or not there’s anything that would really get him all the way back.
The plan is for Bryant to eventually return to rehab after the procedure. But there isn’t a “back on the field” timeline. “Obviously, they’ll try to control your expectations, just because nothing is 100%,” Bryant added. “Everybody reacts differently to it.”
And that, of course, is the problem. Kris Bryant hasn’t responded all that well to playing every day, let alone rehabbing one injury after another. And now the former Chicago Cubs star is doing some really drastic stuff just to try and recapture a fraction of his MVP and Rookie of the Year form.