Injured Bryant knows a lost season won't matter in long run

This feels like a lost season for former Cubs first baseman Kris Bryant.

Currently on the injured list due to a left foot bone bruise and planter fasciitis, Bryant hasn't played since July 31 and also missed chunks of games in both May and June. He actually played more games for San Francisco (51) late last season than he has for Colorado this year (42).

But he didn't hide Friday in his second return to Wrigley Field since the Cubs traded him last year at the deadline. Bryant met with reporters while sitting in pretty much the same spot in the visitors dugout he did last September when he first returned with the Giants.

"I remember talking to (former Cubs pitcher) John Lackey," Bryant said. "He told me, 'You're not going to have a great year every year, you're not going to be healthy every year and that means you've played the game for a long time.

"So I really took that to heart. You just realize that if you've been playing the game for a while, everything can't be perfect every year, which stinks."

Bryant signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the Rockies before the season. Obviously, there hasn't been a quick payoff. Colorado started this series just one game better than the rebuilding Cubs.

"It's been a weird year for me, starting all the way back in November when things kind of shut down (due to the lockout) and then finding a team really quick and then getting hurt and having twins and just a lot of life changes," he said. "But everybody here has been unbelievably supportive.

"I know I haven't been on the field much, but just establishing some really, really good relationships here is going to help me in the future, because I'm going to be here a while."

It sounds like Bryant is more concerned with having a healthy offseason than getting back to complete the current campaign. He said a PTP (platelet-rich plasma) injection has his foot feeling much better, and he was able to hit in the cage and run Friday morning.

Bryant didn't have much advice for two former Cubs teammates, Willson Contreras and Ian Happ, who are still there. Contreras hits the open market this winter after surviving the trade deadline, while Happ will be heading into his final season before free-agency.

"(Contreras) really took kind of a leadership role in that clubhouse pretty well and handled the whole trade deadline situation really well too," Bryant said. "Just couldn't be more proud of him and seeing how much he's grown from when he first got called up."

Bryant's whole family joined him for this week in Chicago, which also included two games against the White Sox. He said he visited some favorite restaurants and got a nice greeting at his old neighborhood Starbucks on Delaware Place.

"Definitely it's fun to play here," he said. "It looks like the wind will be blowing out for three days in a row. I told all the guys I'd check for them before we got here. So hit the ball in the air."

Twitter: @McGrawDHSports