The former star begins year four of a disastrous stint in Colorado
Prior to the 2022 season, Kris Bryant was one of the prizes of the free agent class. The Phillies were rumored to be one of his suitors, but ultimately, he chose to sign with the Colorado Rockies, while the Phillies “settled” for Kyle Schwarber. (We can consider that a win for the Phillies.)
I really believe up and down that Kris Bryant is the best fit for the Phillies. He’s someone who can bounce back and forth between third base and left field, depending on the DH of the day, without you worrying about defense. https://t.co/PvgonME33f
— Follow @FrankKlose on Blue Sky (@FrankKlose) March 12, 2022
The signing never made much sense for the Rockies. At the time, they appeared to be in rebuilding mode – the past three years have confirmed that – so why bring in an expensive 30-year-old? They claimed that they wanted Bryant to help to “bridge the rebuild,” but they were apparently very misguided on the quality and timeline of their minor league prospects.
I can understand why Bryant opted to go to Colorado. With an MVP award and four All-Star berths already on his resume, he might have figured that he could spend the second half of his career putting up big numbers in Colorado’s thin air, boosting his Hall of Fame credentials.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Bryant hasn’t stayed healthy, playing only 159 games in three years, and he missed almost the entirety of the 2024 season with various injuries, the most troublesome being back issues caused by an issue with a disc and arthritis.
But even when Bryant has been on the field, he has performed well below expectations. His OPS in Colorado is .704 and despite the thin air, he’s only his 17 home runs in 161 games.
The only thing Kris Bryant should be cleaning up is the dugout after the game. #rockies
— Pete (@Pete46328980) March 28, 2025
Bryant has essentially said that it was a mistake signing with the Rockies. I was recently in Colorado and didn’t have a great time, so I can sympathize a bit, but perhaps the franchise wouldn’t be in such bad shape if their marquee free agent signing hadn’t been such a bust?
The 2025 season hasn’t started any better for him. After looking bad in Spring and going 0-8 with three strikeouts in the first game of the season, Rockies manager Bud Black benched Bryant for game three.
Mark Kiszla: Kris “With a K” Bryant forces Rockies into crisis-management mode of their $182 million mistake https://t.co/OIPQBISPgl
— The Denver Gazette (@DenverGazette) March 30, 2025
The Rockies lost, but the four runs scored on Sunday marked their high point of the young season. Presumably, Bryant will be back in the lineup for Monday’s series opener. We’ll see if that turns out to be a good thing for the Rockies.
2015 song of the series
Since we’ve been taking a look back at the Phillies’ 2015 season this year, for each of these opposition research pieces, I’ll include a song from 2015 that somehow ties into the series at hand.
Since this is the Phillies’ first home series of the year, it seemed fitting to go with “See you again” by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.
Fans weren’t happy with how the 2024 season ended, and some people are disappointed due to misguided expectations on how the offseason was going to play out. But when the team runs onto the field, I’m sure most of the fans in attendance will provide a loud ovation, just happy to see the team in action again.