(Audacy) Kris Bryant has yet to find success in Colorado the way he did in Chicago, but former Cubs teammate Ian Happ is confident Bryant can be a productive player for the Rockies.
Bryant was an integral part of the Cubs from 2015-'21, most notably on their 2016 World Series-winning team. He won the MVP that year and was an All-Star in four of his seven seasons in Chicago.
The Cubs traded Bryant to the Giants in the middle of the 2021 season, his walk year, and he later signed a surprise seven-year deal with a Rockies team that isn't known for spending or winning.
Injuries have marred Bryant’s run with the Rockies thus far, limiting him to just 122 games across his first two seasons in Colorado. However, he enters this year healthy and primed to bounce back – especially considering he plays his home games at the notoriously hitter-friendly Coors Field.
Bryant is back at Wrigley Field this week as the Rockies are in town to play the Cubs. On his weekly appearances on the Bernstein & Holmes Show on Tuesday, Happ raved about his ex-teammate.
“Kris is an unbelievable player, and I was really lucky to get to play with him,” Happ said. “I didn’t get to see ‘15 and ‘16, but to see ‘17, ‘18, ‘19, the way that he continued to be such a great player – even through the ask to live up to an MVP, the ask to live up to those numbers. Even when he had a high .800 or .900s OPS and to say that it wasn’t good enough because he wasn’t winning MVP, that’s a huge challenge.
“I think that year, it might have been '17, he had a year that was as good or better than the MVP year and to not get the credit for it – he was such a consistent, great player. His batting practice, his prep work is just pretty impressive to watch as a teammate.
“Obviously, he went and signed a big deal and got the security in Colorado and has battled through a little bit of injury, but he’s still a great player. So, when he comes up, he's not somebody that I want to see in a big situation. He’s got five years left on that deal, and I think he’s going to be a really productive player for that team.”