Rockies’ Kris Bryant won’t quit, but chronic back problems ‘really suck’

Kris Bryant can t play baseball right now and he s unsure when he ll be able to play again But he s not ready to give up the tournament Bryant talked at length on Sunday about his chronic back condition and the physical and emotional effects it s had on him But the Rockies highest-paid athlete noted he is not considering retiring I want to be on the field I want to play the event Bryant disclosed while standing at his locker in the Rockies clubhouse at Coors Field I want to talk to doctors see if there s anything else we can do But I m not gonna give up An emotional Bryant declared he wakes up particular mornings barely able to move calling it extremely frustrating Requested about the possibility of undergoing back surgery Bryant mentioned The doctors aren t there yet A back surgery is a pretty big surgery he continued Obviously I m not an expert on it Maybe I should be by now with all the problems I ve had 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 in current times I just woke up not feeling great so it s just extremely frustrating Manager Bud Black believes that Bryant when healthy could be a boon to Colorado s struggling offense I m going to remain optimistic that K B is going to return and come back healthy and ready to contribute Black revealed I still think there s a hitter in there a hit tool and an on-base component Bryant entered the season as Colorado s primary designated hitter but he was placed on the -day injured list Monday with what the club called lumbar degenerative disc sickness He noted he took two shots on Tuesday to help relieve pain and inflammation In games this season Bryant is hitting with no homers in plate appearances as he continues to struggle offensively It s the latest setback for the underperforming Bryant who signed a seven-year million contract ahead of the season It s the largest free-agent contract for a position athlete in Rockies history Bryant has played just games across his four seasons in Colorado with only homers and a - total WAR While the physical pain has kept Bryant off the field he admitted that the emotional toll has also been hard Appealed how he s handled that Bryant declared Not good It sucks I think this is the best way to put it It really sucks Bryant explained that for the largest part part he felt pretty good during spring training but acknowledged that he didn t have to play every day Bryant revealed that he worked harder this offseason than ever before focusing on building his core strength and alleviating particular of the pressure on his lower back He s continued his exercise routine but it didn t stop the back pain from returning You know I m not anymore he commented So you don t feel like you can just roll out of bed and be Superman But at the same time I feel like I ve done everything I can I ve worked extremely hard in the offseason and continued it through spring training and in the season And that s just the frustrating part I just want something to kind of fall my way But I ll keep going Related Articles Rockies rally late but lose seventh straight falling - to Nationals Rockies Clint Hurdle I m here to be Buddy s hitting coach Rockies Journal Clint Hurdle on fans We need to give them selected action Grading The Week Firing hitting coach won t fix what ails Dick Monfort s Rockies Clint Hurdle faces daunting challenge turning around Rockies offense Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis