The Kris-cross, applesauce drivel is gone. The pretzel logic has stopped. The charade is over.
Kris Bryant is not expected to play for the Rockies again. Ever. His aching back won’t not allow it. Nor should the Rockies.
Tuesday, the organization took a step in that direction, placing Bryant on the 60-day disabled list. The strict interpretation means Bryant will miss the first 57 games. Common sense screams that he will miss all of them.
There will be lawyers. But, he is all but done in Colorado.
There should be empathy for his injury, but no sympathy for his lack of production. The Rockies owe Bryant $81 million over the next three seasons. All that is left is to restructure the contract with scheduled payments, buy him out or file a workman’s comp claim.
Regardless, it is time to put Bryant in the rearview after following protocol.
“He’s not ready. He is going to come in and take a physical, and we will get our eyes on him. But talking to his people (The Boras Corporation), his back is not responding,” Rockies general manager Josh Byrnes told The Post. “The 60-day was an easy decision because he’s not ready to play.”
So is his career over with the Rockies?
“It’s really a question at this point,” Byrnes said. “It is ongoing.”
The realization that it is not working, even if it was as simple as following Bryant’s symptoms, is welcomed. At last year’s fan fest 11 months ago, Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt insisted Bryant would contribute. I bit my tongue, resisting the temptation to quip, “As a player?”
Bryant was better cast as Dinger than to hit dingers.
His back has betrayed him. It flares up when he runs, making the 2025 plan to use him in the outfield on the road laughable. And the rotational torque from swinging a bat left him powerless, his cuts a success if they did not produce winces of pain.
Officially he is not gone. But the Rockies are finally, mercifully moving on.
They don’t deserve credit. And they won’t get it from frustrated fans. But they are taking steps in the right direction.
(Pause for eye rolls).
Yes, the Rockies stink like a baby’s diaper. Three straight 100-loss seasons. I get it. They are, however, under new management. President Paul DePodesta and Byrnes have established a vision for success, adding multiple major league players and implementing philosophical changes in the minors.
None of this will be obvious in the standings. But, they are using cellphones, have access to the internet and are embracing technology.
They are not saving baseball on 20th and Blake this season. Or next. Or even in 2028. But when the pitchers and catchers reported to Scottsdale this week, the Rockies sent a clear message:
They don’t see the Dodgers as the Death Star. They see them as the North Star.
What rebuilding looks like for the Rockies, even if they are starting out with Legos, is following the Dodgers blueprint, not their checkbook.
Baseball owners, with Dick Monfort playing a prominent role as a hawk in labor negotiations, are expected to lock out the players after this season, seeking a salary cap, believing that is the only reason the Dodgers win.
Hate to break it to you. It is not.
The Dodgers have aced the developmental piece. Players love getting drafted by them, knowing they will have a plan that gives them the best chance to succeed and reach The Show.
Don’t believe it?
More than a dozen players from their Class-A Great Lake Loons 2022 team have appeared in the big leagues. It is a mixture of arms and bats — Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan, Johny DeLuca. It’s a battery of players capable of making an impact, providing depth and creating flexibility in trade talks.
From 2014 to this fall, Byrnes was there for all of it as the senior vice president of baseball operations.
Long before the Dodgers began issuing $100 million contracts, they had their minor league pitchers using data and technology and players playing multiple positions to increase their versatility.
The Rockies are applying these principles. They signed three veteran pitchers who are embracing the concepts — Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano and Jose Quintana —and added super utility player Wil Castro and outfielder Jake McCarthy.
These moves fill holes and buy time for prospects, forcing them to meet certain thresholds before advancing through the minors.
On any given night last season, half of the Rockies’ roster belonged in Triple-A. Or worse.
“We want as much depth as we can create and to stabilize the rotation, which helps everything,” Byrnes said. “We have used the term ‘’Raise the floor’ a lot. That comes from competition.”
The pitching piece remains the Rubik’s Cube at Coors Field. The days of emphasizing sinkers and sliders and leaning too heavily on fastballs — see Dollander, Chase — are over. The Rockies want pitches of all shapes and sizes.
“I think a deep arsenal is that much more important for us. It is hard on hitters because they have to account for it,” Byrnes said. “That should translate at altitude.”
The hitting is going to take time to fix. Reducing the chase rate and strikeout percentage remains a top priority. No place awards contact more than Coors Field. That is often lost in the myth of baseball in Denver.
“The park affects pitch characteristics. It adds to singles, doubles, triples and home runs. The home runs are the least inflated,” Byrnes said. “There are ways we have to make this to our advantage. I have talked to a lot of people, most notably (former Rockies star outfielder) Charlie Blackmon, about how they feel here, how they perceive pitches.”
There is no guarantee it will work. However, the benefits of alignment in player development are proven.
It is up to Byrnes and crew to help Charlie Condon, Ethan Holliday and Brody Brecht reach their potential, along with the top picks over the next few Julys, for that matter.
How did the Avs, Nuggets and Broncos regain traction? They drafted and developed well. The Rockies must follow suit.
“We are not in a state of denial,” Byrnes said.
Not with the challenge. Not with the haters. And definitely not with Bryant.