The Colorado Rockies activated right-hander Daniel Bard (anxiety) from the 15-day injured list Wednesday and optioned right-hander Peter Lambert to Triple-A Albuquerque.
"I think it's just enough guys being willing to admit either they're going through something currently, or they come out and say, 'Yeah, I went through this in the past and I grinded through it and I probably should have taken a little bit of time off,'" Bard told Bally Sports last week.
"The more guys who do that, the more it will become normal, just like a guy who hurts his hamstring or elbow."
The 37-year-old Bard was a member of Team USA at the World Baseball Classic, but control issues in a game against Venezuela included an inside pitch to Jose Altuve that broke the hand of the Houston Astros second baseman.
"I want to use my story to just give hope for people to get through really hard things, especially in sports," he said before the Venezuela game.
"But also people outside of sports and different areas, different walks of life. Different professions where they hit a roadblock and feel like they lost their ability to do something they're supposed to be good at."
Bard was a standout reliever for the Boston Red Sox early in his career, posting a 1.93 ERA in 73 outings during his second major league season in 2010. But control issues surfaced and after two outings in 2013, he stepped away from the game.
The Rockies gave Bard a look in spring training in 2020 and he made the roster, returning to his standout ways last season when he went 6-4 with a 1.79 ERA and 34 saves in 57 outings.
"I don't want to say for everybody it's going to be the perfect happy ending," Bard told Bally Sports. "I have been very fortunate. I didn't know that this part was going to happen and that I would get to play again and do this thing."
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