Former Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant isn’t ready to retire yet, even as a lingering back injury impacts his quality of living. Doctors recently diagnosed Bryant, the 2016 NL MVP, with lumbar degenerative disc disease.
Although Bryant expects to return when his injured list stint ends later this month, the four-time All-Star knows this isn’t a problem going away anytime soon. Bryant, 33, told reporters Sunday that he’s “not gonna give up” and plans to continue his career. However, he also acknowledged he hasn’t ruled out eventually having back surgery. “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 admitted, according to CBS Sports. “I just woke up not feeling great, so it’s just extremely frustrating,” Bryant added.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, degenerative disc disease – which the clinic notes is not actually a disease but a condition – causes the spinal discs to wear down. Bryant has already gone on the injured list nine times over four seasons with the Rockies. Bryant explained that the back issues typically began flaring up by his third at-bat. “And then the fourth at-bat, I’m like, ‘I just got to get this at-bat over within the first couple of swings,'” he told reporters. “And that’s not a great spot to be.” Bryant has hit .154 with no home runs, an RBI, and a dreadful .400 OPS through 11 games. Injuries previously limited him to -1.1 bWAR and 159 games from 2022-24.
Bryant has three seasons and $81 million remaining on his contract after this year. He also owns a full no-trade clause. “I’m not doing myself or the team any good service if I don’t speak up,” Bryant said. “Then the next day you get up and it’s like, ‘I can’t move.'”
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