Colorado Rockies: Injury updates on Kris Bryant, Tyler Kinley

MINNEAPOLIS – The Colorado Rockies were hoping to activate outfielder Kris Bryant (back) off of the 10-day injured list during the series against the Minnesota Twins.

However, he was not activated on Friday before the series opener. During his pre-game press conference with the media, manager Bud Black revealed that Bryant would not be activated during the series at all. But Bryant has not had a setback, though.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Kris Bryant won’t be returning to the team against Minnesota

Colorado Rockies outfielder Kris Bryant will not be returning to the majors to play in games at least until Colorado’s homestand next week. Manager Bud Black said that they want Bryant to get more playing time with Triple-A Albuquerque.

“No setback at all, just looking at it a little more realistically,” said Black to the media, including Rox Pile. “What Kris probably needs is a few more games. He’s good. The back feels great.”

Bryant has only played in two games since April 25.

Rockies reliever Tyler Kinley will not have to have Tommy John surgery

Initially, the Rockies were worried that reliever Tyler Kinley may have to have Tommy John surgery, after he had the surgery in 2009 (between high school and college).

However, he will not have to have that surgery. Instead, he will have flexor tendor surgery. Kinley will still miss the rest of the regular season but he will only miss 8-12 months, depending on which rehab program he goes with, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.

The surgery will be done by Rangers physician Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington this week.

For Tommy John surgery, it usually takes 14-18 months to recover, meaning that Kinley would likely miss most of, if not all, of the 2023 season.

“His program has been a little bit more conservative for rehab, but he’s seen better results being more conservative early,” Kinley said. “We’re confident. He’s had great success with the guys coming back from flexor stuff.”

Kinley had appeared in 25 games and was their best reliever as he had a 0.75 ERA.

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