The Colorado Rockies have been at their wit’s end trying to figure out what to do with Kris Bryant. Following the end of the lockout in the 2021-22 offseason, the Rockies stunned the baseball world by signing the former MVP to a seven-year, $182 million contract. The Rockies intended to have a new superstar face of the franchise to draw the fans to Coors Field, and they hoped that Bryant’s veteran leadership and experience could inspire the next generation of Rockies players in the years to come. As the team expressed multiple times during the early days of his tenure, he was meant to be an “aircraft carrier” a phrase often used by general manager Bill Schmidt that originated from former GM Dan O’Dowd’s time with the team.

Since that fateful signing, Bryant has been less of a carrier and more of a rusty anchor for a team mired in mediocrity. Injured have marred him, specifically with his back, and limited him to just 159 games over three years. When he has been on the field, Bryant has produced a meager .250/.332/.381 slash with 17 home runs, an 89 OPS+ and 88 wRC+. In 2024 alone he played in just 37 games, a career low in a full season while batting .218 with a .623 OPS and a 30% strikeout rate.

A degenerative back condition was made aware to Bryant and he has been rigorously trying to strengthen his body so that the back is a manageable issue. At the end of the 2024 season, Bryant, his agent, the Rockies’ athletic training and strength and conditioning staffs, manager Bud Black and Schmidt devised a plan to put Bryant back together and keep him that way. Workouts and conditioning have focused on strengthening the core to relieve pressure from his back while trying to keep his body fresh and enhance recovery efforts. It remains to be seen how effective the offseason was for Bryant but with the reportedly constant communication between him and the front office the hope is that he will enter Spring Training ready to hit the ground running and be the piece the Rockies need in the lineup.

“It’s health,” Schmidt said to reporters. “That’s something you can’t control.

“He still has the tools. We’ve just got to find a way to keep him on the field to play. Kris can still be a productive player for us.”

“For us to go offensively, you need everybody,” Black said. “But there are certain players who have talent that need to do what they’re capable of doing. Kris has been hampered by injuries. He’s been hampered by a number of things physically that have kept him from being Kris Bryant. So we need him to do that.”

The team has seen the growth of stars in the making with Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle as well as a rather breakout year for Michael Toglia. The team has also seen the potential of Ryan McMahon at times, though he is a well-known commodity at this point, as well as Nolan Jones who dazzled in 2023 before suffering a cataclysmic decline in 2024 due to injuries and performance. There is potential with the lineup, along with the addition of Thairo Estrada, but so many questions reside in how the lineup will perform and if Bryant can even have an impact like they want him to have.

There are plenty of questions and concerns to have about the Rockies’ offense but what truly is baffling is what the Rockies hope to do with Bryant position-wise.

After Charlie Blackmon retired at the end of last season, the next logical course of action was to simply plug Bryant into the designated hitter role permanently in an effort to keep him healthy. Two of his major injuries last season were caused by plays in right field and first base. This would certainly allow the team the flexibility to figure out how to fill the outfield with prospects like Jordan Beck, Zac Veen, Benny Montgomery and Yanquiel Fernandez while allowing Toglia the ability to play first base every day.

However, the Rockies continued their stubborn ways by suggesting that the plan is to utilize Bryant’s “versatility” still and allow him to play the outfield on the road occasionally, filling in at first base, and spending time in the DH role. Instead of a permanent role with the team, they are still hoping that Bryant can be a catalyst across the diamond to plug and play where they see fit.

This is a flawed way of thinking.

One of the first areas of concern is that the Rockies believe that Bryant playing outfield only on the road will make much difference to his defensive abilities and overall health. Sure it may relieve some of the recovery wear and tear of playing at altitude, but there have been players throughout the team’s history that have had no problems staying healthy and productive while playing right field at Coors Field. Even some less-than-ideal outfielders have fared just fine regardless of whether they are at home or the road, and the same can be said for outfielders who haven’t fared so well.

There is also the matter of Bryant not being that good of an outfielder in the first place. In his career, Bryant has accumulated -11 Defensive Runs Saved, including -14 DRS with the Rockies the past three years. As he has gotten older, Bryant’s range has declined, as has his arm strength, giving his negative grades in most defensive metrics in the outfield. In 2023, Bryant covered -1.9 feet vs average based on his initial jumps on a hit ball. In 2024 he covered -5.3 feet vs average while receiving a route rating of -1. His routing and reaction time are fairly subpar and his speed does not allow him to track down balls which is a glaring contrast when you have Doyle, a two-time Gold Glove winner, patrolling center field.

In the outfield with the Rockies Bryant has been worth -8 Outs Above Average while Statcast rates him worth -10 Fielding Runs Value. He has trouble going back on balls, and his expected catch percentage has been at least three points higher than his actual catch percentage each of the last three seasons, including a -6% difference in 2024.  His days as a third baseman help with the arm strength when he does get to a ball, but that mostly comes in handy if he can get to a ball to cut it off and make a strong throw to the infield. In 2024 he registered just one hold, and hasn’t done much in his career in the department overall.

The same conclusions can be drawn about his time at first base, albeit with the caveat that he isn’t terrible at first base and you could throw him there as needed occasionally, but the same factors of poor range and movement at first apply to his abilities at the position. Between him and Toglia, you’d want the athleticism of Toglia hunkering things down at first base.

Bryant is entering his age 33 season and entering the fourth season of his Rockies tenure. He has already lost too much time and is earning a majority of the Rockies payroll, meaning that priority number one is just keeping in healthy and in the lineup to see if he can find some semblance of his former productive self.  By trying to force him into the outfield is an unnecessary risk the Rockies don’t need to impose upon themselves. Beck is better suited to be the right fielder or even Sam Hilliard, while Bryant should remain in the DH spot 95% of the time. The Rockies like to use the DH spot as a rotating door to give players rest, but if they want to give Bryant the best chance at success they can’t make the mistake of playing him in the outfield and risk an injury that could cause another lost season.

Spring training will play a key role is telling the team how ready Bryant is for the workload but what will be even more important is one of the younger players taking the reigns and making the outfield their own, regulating Bryant to the duties he should have. The hope is that the Rockies are simply using that language as a way to appease and encourage Bryant to prep and be ready for anything while fully intending him to only serve as the primary DH in the season to come. One thing remains certain, 2025 is a crucial year for Bryant to start delivering on his contract and the Rockies can’t afford to make any major mistakes.