Daniel Bard is losing the entire 2024 season to injury. The Rockies reliever underwent arthroscopic surgery to fix a meniscus tear in his left knee in February. While rehabbing, he went down with a forearm injury and underwent a season-ending flexor tendon repair.
At the time of the arm surgery, the 38-year-old righty was noncommittal about whether he’d continue his career. Now that he’s six weeks removed from the procedure, Bard tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that he plans to give it another go.
“Going into the surgery, I was probably 50-50,” Bard told Saunders over the weekend. “When you first find out you need surgery and you are going to miss 12 months, there is that moment of disappointment. You kind of get the wind knocked out of you. But having a few weeks to think about it and watch baseball, it really makes me want to see if I’ve got it next spring.”
Bard, who turns 39 in June, is in the second season of an extension he signed with the Rox. He was amidst a stellar 2022 season as Colorado’s closer when he and the team agreed on a two-year, $19MM deal covering the 2023-24 campaigns. The extension came together days before the ’22 trade deadline. Bard would have been one of the top rental relievers on the summer market, but a noncompetitive Colorado team elected to keep him around.
That decision didn’t work out at all as the Rox hoped. Bard began the 2023 season on the injured list after battling anxiety issues that had sidetracked his career in the mid-2010s. While he made it back to the mound, he had trouble finding the strike zone. Bard walked more than 21% of opposing hitters and spent the season working in the middle innings. He probably would have gotten another chance to compete for the closer role this spring, but the injuries wrecked that plan.
Saunders writes that Bard will spend his time on the injured list in Denver to serve as a mentor to Colorado’s younger bullpen mates. The Rox have had a very tough go in the late innings. Rockies relievers have allowed a league-worst 5.10 earned runs per nine. Jalen Beeks and Victor Vodnik have managed decent run prevention marks despite middling strikeout rates. The rest of Colorado’s bullpen has struggled, with particularly disappointing numbers from late-inning arms Justin Lawrence and Tyler Kinley.
Given the seemingly strong relationship between Bard and the Rockies, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Colorado keeps him around for his 2025 comeback attempt. He’ll be a free agent next offseason and will almost certainly need to take a minor league contract, but the Rox could have interest in such an arrangement.
Rockies will keep him around. Because that’s the move that makes zero sense.
Hopefully he signs elsewhere, but probably not.
All you need to know about the Rockies.
Instead of cashing in a nice trade chip—we’ll go ahead and give the 37 year old reliever a $19MM extension.
He’s got that dawg in em. Clearly loves the game.
He’s a hard guy not to root for. Hopefully he can squeeze one or two more good ones out. After that, with his story and experience it seems like he’d be a good coach at some level or maybe working with a player mental health program for the league or union.
Mad respect for Bard
He either goes to the Red Sox again and chokes at Fenway or stays in Colorado and gets injured and retires
Another cooked player. Toss ’em on the pile.
Daniel still has another Bard’s tale to tell next year.
OY
“Another cooked player. Toss ’em on the pile.”
Why are people like this?
My best guess, their own lives are pathetic, so they have to bring others down
@CBeisbol
Yeah, my life’s pretty terrible. No family, no friends, no work, no car, no house, no food, no clothes, no nothing…!
Relax, I think you take internet posts a bit too seriously. Unless you’re Daniel?
OY
Why if I’m Daniel am I taking your posts at the correct level of seriousness?
And none of those things indicate that you don’t have a miserable life. Dunning-Kruger: incompetent people don’t know what it takes to be competent
@CBeisbol
Oh well, guy’s still cooked. Your feelings don’t matter. I think the biggest problem with our current society is we put too much value in feelings.
OY
Yeah. That’s the problem.
That we care too much how people feel
Adios
You’re def one of those people that talk online differently than how you act in real life
Also, feelings are a big thing that make us human dude
@Card AG
How would you know?
Yes, humans have feelings but the amount of importance we place on it in society is psychotic. But I guess that’s the soyboy culture we have today.
It is what it is it’s called life and reality nothing sugar coated u that offended stop being so sensitive
KMK
Adios
Just saw umpire Angel Hernandez is retiring !!! Hip Hip Hooray ! Yes ! And best part is it’s immediately. What a turd, good riddance.
One of the best things to happen to baseball. Angel Hernandez can join Joe West in the big ego, premodanna umpires in the league. Good riddance to both!
As bad as Hernández has been, there are currently 16 umpires with a lower overall accuracy on the year than Angel.
CB Bucknor needs to retire next
@Niekro floater
Terrible news. Now there won’t be much to complain about in baseball.
Dude worked his last game on May 9th. He was going to get fired as difficult as that may be with MLBUA’s backing. He reached a settlement on his contract so he can “retire”.
Gentleman.. any of you remember Ron Luiciano?? Not sure how good or bad he was as umpire but enjoyed his rifts with Earl weaver… also I remember he would shoot you OUT on a close play….. Big John McSherry and the animated Terry Tata.. and his SO punch out… Damn I’ve watched too much baseball growing up!!!l
Don’t call it a comeback.
He might make a decent bullpen or pitching coach. Rox love this guy and seems like he might be getting his feet wet in “coaching pitchers”. Wouldn’t be a hard decision for him if he decided to hang up the cleats for a “pen and paper” coaching gig. He’d still be involved in the game he loves on the biggest stage. Why not?