Kris Bryant’s irritating Rockies tenure continued final week when the previous MVP went on the injured listing due to a lower-back pressure. The location was retroactive to April 14, so he could be eligible to return on Wednesday. That’s not going to occur, as supervisor Bud Black informed reporters that the primary baseman/outfielder hasn’t been cleared for baseball actions, through insider Patrick Lyons.
Black pressured that surgical procedure shouldn’t be on the desk, however there’s no timeline for Bryant’s return. Accidents have been a recurring theme all through his first three seasons in Denver. Bryant’s 2022 marketing campaign was led to August by plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He had multi-week absences for a heel contusion and a damaged finger final 12 months. The four-time All-Star has appeared in 135 video games with Colorado, tallying 571 plate appearances. He owns a middling .249/.329/.391 batting line, together with a .149/.273/.255 mark over 13 video games this 12 months.
Elehuris Montero has taken over as the first first baseman with Bryant out. The 25-year-old has but to reap the benefits of the chance. Montero entered Tuesday night time’s sport towards the Padres with a .210/.250/.226 slash in 68 plate appearances. Solely the Astros have gotten much less offensive manufacturing from their first basemen general.
The nook outfield hasn’t been significantly better. Colorado’s left fielders entered play Tuesday with a .149/.237/.253 line, inserting twenty eighth (above the Dodgers and White Sox) by measure of wRC+. That’s largely due to a tricky begin from Nolan Jones, who was arguably the workforce’s finest participant in 2023. After a powerful .297/.389/.542 displaying final 12 months, Jones has began the ’24 marketing campaign with a .148/.219/.250 slash. He snapped an 0-26 skid with a base hit in Tuesday night time’s win over San Diego however was faraway from the sport within the seventh inning.
Colorado introduced that Jones skilled some again stiffness (h/t Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette). The Rox will hope it’s nothing greater than a blip because the 25-year-old tries to recapture final 12 months’s kind. Jake Cave got here off the bench to complete the sport in left and will decide up just a few extra at-bats if Jones wants any day without work.
Accidents have additionally been a narrative on the opposite facet of the ball. Colorado went into the season with out Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela as they rehab from Tommy John procedures. Kyle Freeland went on the shelf with an elbow harm final week. The southpaw indicated that testing revealed a small pressure in his UCL however appeared optimistic in regards to the prognosis, suggesting that docs didn’t anticipate it to worsen, through MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. The Rockies have floated a four-to-six week timeline for Freeland’s return.
In additional constructive information, lefty reliever Lucas Gilbreath took a major step ahead within the restoration from his March 2023 Tommy John process. Colorado despatched Gilbreath to Triple-A Albuquerque to start a minor league rehab project. The outcomes weren’t nice — two runs on a success and two walks with one out — but it’s extra notable that he was in a position to toss 18 pitches in his first affiliated sport motion since August 2022.
Now 28, Gibreath turned in stable outcomes between 2021-22. He logged 85 2/3 innings with a 3.78 ERA, punching out 1 / 4 of opponents. Whereas he’s had below-average command, Gilbreath regarded the a part of a possible setup possibility earlier than the surgical procedure.
