Daniel Bard misses the entire 2024 season due to injury. The Rockies reliever had arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee in February. While rehabbing, he went down with an arm injury and underwent season-ending flexor tendon repair.
At the time of his arm surgery, the 38-year-old righty was not committed to continuing his career. Now six weeks removed from the process, Bard tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that he plans to go back again.
“Going into surgery, I was about 50-50,” Bard told Saunders over the weekend. “When you first find out you need surgery and will miss 12 months, there is that moment of disappointment. You can feel the breath coming out of you. But having a few weeks to think about it and watch baseball, makes me want to see if I get it next spring.“
Bard, who turns 39 in June, is in the second season of the extension he signed with the Rox. He was in the midst of a great 2022 season as Colorado came close when he and the team agreed to a two-year, $19MM deal that covers the 2023-24 campaign. The extension came together days before the ’22 trade deadline. Bard would have been one of the top recruits on the summer market, but the non-contending team in Colorado chose to keep him around.
That decision didn’t work as well as Rox had hoped. Bard began the 2023 season on the injured list after battling anxiety disorders that had derailed his career in the mid-2010s. When he returned to the mound, he had trouble finding a strike zone. Bard walked over 21% of opposing batters and spent the season working in the middle innings. He likely would have gotten another chance to compete for the closer’s role this spring, but injuries derailed that plan.
Saunders writes that Bard will spend his time on the injured list in Denver to serve as a mentor to Colorado’s juniors. The Rox had a rough ride in the later innings. Rockies pitchers have allowed a league-worst 5.10 runs per nine. Jalen Beeks again Victor Vodnik they managed good run prevention grades despite average strikeout rates. The rest of Colorado’s bullpen has struggled, with mostly disappointing numbers from late-season arms Justin Lawrence again Tyler Kinley.
Given the seemingly strong relationship between Bard and the Rockies, it wouldn’t be surprising if Colorado kept him around for his 2025 comeback attempt. He will be a free agent next season and will likely need to take a minor league contract, but Rox would be interested in such a plan.
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