A wave of love for Kris Bryant, who suffers every day

Kris Bryant hasn't been the same player for years. His stats in Colorado have been terrible since signing his seven-year, $182 million contract before the 2022 season.

On Tuesday, we learned that the situation was more complex than we thought. He suffers from degenerative disc disease, which means that his bones rub together every day.

In fact, he said that every morning, he is in pain. Systematically.

The man himself continues to work hard to try to return to play, but it won't be easy. In fact, it's likely that he has played his last game in the Majors.

The situation is somewhat reminiscent of Anthony Rendon, who didn't give the Angels their money's worth after signing his contract. In both cases, we're talking about one of the worst contracts in history.

But the difference? Bryant isn't a bad teammate. And fans realize that.

Right now, the conversation has changed in his case. Instead of talking about his performance, the conversation now revolves around the support Bryant needs to get through this.

There are quite a few examples like the following tweet on X right now.

Kris Bryant says he wakes up every day in pain pic.twitter.com/3O8XoOPNGC

— Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) February 17, 2026

If this was the last time we saw Bryant on a baseball field, we can agree that the memories we will keep of him are more those of the electrifying player he was at the beginning of his career than the injured player he was in Denver.

Because even though the Rockies refused to let him be honored in Chicago recently, Cubs fans haven't forgotten the MVP and World Series champion he was in what seems like another lifetime.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.