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Liam Hendriks

Red Sox Likely To Shut Liam Hendriks Down For The Season

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TODAY: Hendriks will receive a cortisone shot on Monday and then resume throwing mid-week, he told the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams.  While he admitted his chances of pitching may hinge on how the Red Sox are faring in the playoff race, “the door’s not closed” on Hendriks appearing on the mound in 2024.  “It’s normal to have a hiccup.  It’s normal having to have little things like that, but it’s frustrating at how late it happened in the process,” Hendriks said.

SEPT 12: It seems Liam Hendriks’ debut with the Red Sox will wait until 2025. Manager Alex Cora said before tonight’s extra-inning loss in the Bronx that the Sox are “probably … going to shut him down” from throwing (link via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Boston pulled the veteran reliever off his minor league rehab assignment last week when Hendriks reported arm discomfort.

The three-time All-Star has been working back from an August 2023 Tommy John surgery that ended his time with the White Sox. Cora indicated that Hendriks’ recent discomfort is on the outside of his forearm rather than in the elbow. An MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage and the team believes the issue is normal soreness related to his build-up after a long layoff.

While there doesn’t seem to be any long-term concern, the calendar doesn’t offer Hendriks time for even a minor setback. There are 17 days left in the regular season. Boston’s loss tonight dropped them 4.5 games back of the American League’s last Wild Card spot. It’s probably too risky to ask Hendriks to push through minor forearm discomfort to aid a long shot playoff chase.

Hendriks signed a two-year, $10MM free agent deal early in Spring Training. It’s a backloaded contract that follows the typical structure for a pitcher rehabbing a major arm surgery. Hendriks made $2MM this season and is set for a $6MM base salary next year. He’s guaranteed a $2MM buyout on a mutual option for 2026. The Aussie could unlock up to $10MM more via incentives next season depending on his innings and games finished totals.

The latter category would take on particular importance if Hendriks opens next season as Cora’s closer. He’d secure $1MM apiece for every fifth game finished between 45 and 65 contests. Hendriks led the American League with 38 saves for Chicago back in 2021. He saved another 37 games the next season. Hendriks would’ve filled a middle relief or setup role had he gotten back on the mound this year. The ninth inning could be there for the taking next spring.

Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin are concluding two-year deals signed when Chaim Bloom was chief baseball officer. Both pitchers have been effective, but the Sox could let them each walk in free agency. Boston reportedly tried to find a trade partner for Jansen both before Opening Day and at times in the season’s first half. It looks unlikely they’ll re-sign him. Martin seems to have a better chance of returning, but he has a lot less closing experience than Hendriks brings. Deadline acquisitions Lucas Sims and Luis García are also headed to the market.

First-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, a former reliever, has hit on a couple unheralded bullpen pickups. Rule 5 pick Justin Slaten has had an excellent rookie season and should be ticketed for high-leverage work. Greg Weissert, acquired in the Alex Verdugo deal, has been solid. There’ll surely be a few acquisitions in the offseason. Boston isn’t going to let each of Jansen, Martin, Sims and García walk without bringing in some kind of veteran help. The next few months should clarify whether Hendriks will go into 2025 as Boston’s closer.

In any case, he’ll certainly be in the late-inning mix if he stays healthy. Hendriks getting back to peak form would be a fantastic story not only for Boston but for baseball as a whole. Last year’s surgery interrupted a triumphant return to the mound after Hendriks beat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The ’25 season could be his opportunity to reemerge as one of the game’s best relievers.

AL East Notes: Bichette, Kjerstad, Hendriks

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Bo Bichette is scheduled to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment beginning on Tuesday, the Blue Jays told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Arden Zwelling).  Bichette has been on the injured list since suffering a right calf strain on July 19, which was the third calf-related issue for Bichette within about a month’s time.  It wasn’t clear at the time of the placement if Bichette would be able to return before the season was over or if the Jays might just shut him down, but it looks like the shortstop should be able to make it back for at least a bit more action before the 2024 campaign wraps.

While the Jays are well out of contention, returning to the field should provide some peace of mind for Bichette about his health as he wraps up the worst season of his six-year career.  The two-time All-Star hit only .222/.275/.320 over 331 plate appearances, delivering a 69 wRC+ that was far below his previous career mark of 127.  Bichette’s turn from star to replacement-level player was one of many reasons behind the Jays’ rough season, and it has raised fresh speculation about Bichette’s long-term future in Toronto, or even if he’ll still be a Blue Jay by next Opening Day.  These questions obviously won’t be answered in the small sample size of however many MLB games Bichette is able to play in September, but returning to the Jays lineup and hitting like his old self would allow him to take something positive from an otherwise lost year.

Other updates from around the AL East…

  • The Orioles announced that Heston Kjerstad will start a rehab assignment at the team’s A-ball affiliate in Aberdeen beginning tomorrow.  Kjerstad has been on the concussion-related injury list since August 1, marking his second stint on the concussion-IL since he was hit in the head by a Clay Holmes pitch on July 12.  The good news is that Kjerstad has cleared concussion protocol and now looks ready to return to action.  Now in his second MLB season, the former top prospect has continued to show glimpses of his potential with a .261/.370/.420 slash line in 81 plate appearances with Baltimore this season, and a healthy Kjerstad could provide a nice boost for the O’s heading into the playoffs.
  • Liam Hendriks was slated to throw back-to-back outings as part of his ongoing minor rehab assignment, though the Red Sox and the reliever have pulled back on the idea since Hendriks is feeling some slight discomfort.  “There was a little bit of an issue [in the elbow], but nothing that can’t be worked out,” Hendriks told the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams and other reporters.  “I think I need to limit my own throwing….The muscle groups right there aren’t quite built up to withstand that just yet.  I need to kind of ease them in a little bit better.”  Hendriks and manager Alex Cora downplayed the setback, and the hope is that Hendriks will be able to make it back to the Red Sox roster before the season is over.  Hendriks hasn’t pitched in the majors since June 2023, as a Tommy John surgery in August of that year has put his career on hold.

Red Sox Notes: Hamilton, Story, Hendriks, Martin

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The Red Sox placed infielder David Hamilton on the 10-day injured list yesterday due to a left index finger fracture, which he suffered on a bunt single the day before. He told reporters that the timetable would be four to six weeks but that he’s hoping to get that down to two to three weeks, which would be based on his pain tolerance. Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic was among those who relayed the info on X.

The Sox have had a rotating cast of characters covering second base this year. They had planned on giving the gig to Vaughn Grissom after acquiring him from Atlanta for Chris Sale in the winter. But Grissom has been injured or struggling for most of the year, which opened the spot for others. Apart from Grissom, ten different players have seen at least a bit of action at the keystone for Boston this year.

No one really took hold of the job but Hamilton arguably performed the best of the group. His .248/.303/.395 batting line this year only translates to a 91 wRC+, indicating he’s been 9% below average, but he’s stolen 33 bases in 37 tries and has played both middle infield positions. His work at shortstop hasn’t been graded well but he has nine Defensive Runs Saved and three Outs Above Average at second. Overall, FanGraphs considers him to have been worth 1.6 wins above replacement on the year.

He may not get a chance to alter those numbers in the wake of his injury. The four-to-six-week timeline would essentially wipe out his regular season at this point. Even if he has a chance to come back quicker, that would probably require the Sox to stay in the race. They are currently 3.5 games back of a playoff spot. If they fall back in the coming weeks, there wouldn’t be much point in rushing Hamilton back before he’s 100% healthy.

For now, the Sox will likely keep the carousel of players going through the keystone, with Nick Sogard, Romy González and Mickey Gasper some of the options on the roster. Perhaps they will recall Grissom at some point, though he’s currently getting regular playing time at Triple-A Worcester.

Another X-factor in the club’s middle infield plans will be Trevor Story, who is trying to return to the club before the season is done. He has been trying to come back from April shoulder surgery that was initially thought to be season-ending and tells Rob Bradford of WEEI (X link) that a rehab assignment will be his next step, though he didn’t provide a specific date for starting that rehab.

Even if Story does return to the Sox this year, it’s anyone’s guess what form he will be in. The Sox signed him to a six-year, $140MM deal going into 2022 but haven’t received much on that investment yet. He has missed significant time due to various ailments, including this year’s shoulder surgery and last year’s elbow surgery. He has only appeared in 145 games for the Sox since signing that deal and has hit just .227/.288/.394 in his 598 plate appearances.

It’s fair to conclude that the lack of health has played a big role in tamping down his production, but that also means there might still be some rust if he returns to the club in the next few weeks. Still, it could be good for the long term if he gets some playing time under his feet before the winter. He’s still a big part of the club’s future, with three years remaining on that deal. Ceddanne Rafaela has been playing shortstop of late but he’s not hitting much and still has options. He could be sent down to the minors or perhaps be bumped into a utility role since he’s also a capable outfielder.

Turning to the pitching staff, right-hander Liam Hendriks could be back in the majors soon. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery last year but has started a rehab assignment and made four appearances in the minors this month. He tells Alex Speier of The Boston Globe that he’s targeting a return next weekend.

Now 35, Hendriks has been on quite a tumultuous journey in recent years. He missed the start of the 2023 season while dealing with a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After beating cancer, he returned to the mound with the White Sox but only made five appearances before requiring the aforementioned surgery. The Sox signed him in the offseason to a two-year deal with a $10MM guarantee and another $10MM in incentives, knowing that they probably wouldn’t get much out of the righty in the first season.

That was a logical step for the Sox as Hendriks was dominant prior to this odyssey. From 2019 to 2022, he made 226 appearances with a 2.26 earned run average, 38.8% strikeout rate and 5.1% walk rate. On top of that, both Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin are set to hit free agency after 2024, so signing Hendriks in the winter was a preemptive move to address the 2025 bullpen ahead of schedule.

It’s also possible that Martin could be back. He tells the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast (X link) that he’s planning on pitching again next year, in what would be his age-39 season, as long as he feels good through the end of the current campaign. He also spoke positively of the Red Sox organization and seemed open to a return.

Martin and the Sox signed a two-year, $17.5MM deal heading into 2023. He has thrown 86 2/3 innings over the course of that deal with a 1.77 ERA, 25.1% strikeout rate, 48.1% ground ball rate and tiny 2.9% walk rate. Given the continued strong results, he figures to get strong interest from the Sox or any other club around the league if he wants to keep his career going.

Red Sox Notes: Casas, Hendriks, Mata

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In an odd moment of miscommunication earlier this month, Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas told reporters earlier this month that he had begun to take dry swings while rehabbing torn cartilage in his midsection. That was exciting news regarding the 24-year-old’s progress, but MassLive’s Sean McAdam noted earlier this week that Casas’s previous comments do not appear to have been entirely accurate.

“Oh, no, just in my mind,” Casas said (as relayed by McAdam) when asked to elaborate on his previous comments about taking swings. “Without a bat, just in my head. I’ve taken thousands of at-bats like that. I feel great.”

Despite Casas’s previously reported step towards swinging a bat apparently having been entirely imaginary, McAdam noted that the slugger had truly resumed swinging on Wednesday, when he swung a bat 20 times after an MRI the previous day revealed that his ribcage had healed properly. As noted by MassLive’s Christopher Smith earlier today, manager Alex Cora told reporters that Casas has subsequently ramped up to 30 swings and is feeling some “general soreness” as he kicks back into gear and prepares for his return to the majors. Cora went on to suggest that the soreness may not impact Casas’s timeline much, adding that he might resume swinging as soon as tomorrow and could continue to do some baseball activity today. Despite the soreness not being much of an issue, however, Cora suggested that it’s unlikely that the first baseman will return to action in the majors before the All Star break.

Thats not necessarily shocking, given the fact that Casas hasn’t seen game action since late April and will surely need a rehab assignment to get back up to speed. While that post-All Star break target is a far cry from the July 2nd date Casas floated for his return earlier this month, its not necessarily surprising that he would be about two weeks behind that schedule given the fact that he didn’t start swinging a bat until about two weeks after he first indicated he was resuming doing so.

Regardless of the unusual situation, Casas’s return is sure to provide a shot in the arm for a Red Sox club that has enjoyed a 10-4 record over their last 14 games. Despite that strong recent performance vaulting them firmly into the AL Wild Card mix alongside teams like the Royals and Twins, Boston’s offense has posted a relatively pedestrian wRC+ of just 102 since Casas went down with injury, and Dominic Smith has slashed a paltry .209/.308/.317 (78 wRC+) in 47 games filling in for Casas at first base. That’s a far cry from the production the young slugger offered when healthy in the first month of the season, as Casas will boast a .244/.344/.513 slash line on the season when he returns to the lineup, although that came in a sample size of just 90 trips to the plate.

Casas isn’t the only potentially impactful piece who’s on the road to recovery from injury. Veteran closer Liam Hendriks, who the Red Sox signed to a two-year, $10MM guarantee over the winter, underwent Tommy John surgery back in August of last year when he was still a member of the White Sox but has long been targeting a return to the big league mound around or shortly after this year’s trade deadline, which has been set for July 30. Hendriks has been making solid progress in that pursuit, as Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reported that after throwing a 15-pitch bullpen session earlier this week he followed it up with a 20-pitch bullpen yesterday. McCaffrey added that Hendriks said that he was “feeling good” following yesterday’s and that the plan is for him to move up from two bullpen sessions to three next week before determining next steps beyond that.

Seeing as Hendriks has already resumed throwing, it seems likely that he would be on pace to return sometime in August as previously expected. While the 35-year-old was limited to just five innings of work last year between his aforementioned Tommy John surgery and a battle with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that caused him to miss the first half of the season, the veteran hurler has long been regarded as one of the league’s top bullpen arms. From 2019 to 2022, Hendriks pitched to a sensational 2.26 ERA (188 ERA+) and 2.13 FIP while striking out an eye-popping 38.8% of batters faced in a combined 239 innings of work. Adding a player with that sort of resume to a bullpen that’s already employs Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin in the late innings could make for a lethal three-headed monster at the back of the Red Sox bullpen down the stretch if Hendriks is able to stay on track and return healthy.

Joining Hendriks in working his way back from a largely lost 2023 season is right-hander Bryan Mata, who pitched just 27 innings last year due to a strained teres major muscle. The right-hander and former top prospect for the Red Sox has yet to make his big league debut, but is a particularly interesting case given the fact that he is out of options and will need to either be added to the club’s active roster or subjected to waivers once healthy enough to return to action. It’s long been considered unlikely that Mata would clear waivers without being claimed by another club, meaning that 30 days after Mata begins a rehab assignment, the Red Sox will need to make a decision regarding his future in the organization.

As noted by Smith earlier this afternoon, Mata began a rehab assignment for the club earlier this month and reached the Triple-A level on Thursday. The right-hander impressed in 2 2/3 innings of work as his fastball reached 97.8 mph, though he surrendered two runs on two hits and a walk during the appearance. He’ll follow that performance up with another rehab start with Worcester this coming Tuesday. That pattern figures to continue for the remainder of his rehab assignment, as Cora told reporters (including Smith) that the club plans to keep Mata on a starter’s schedule but limit him two or three innings per appearance.

While Mata hasn’t enjoyed much success amid injury-marred campaigns in 2023 and 2024, it’s not hard to see why the Red Sox would want to keep the righty in the fold. After all, it was just two seasons ago when the youngster dazzled with 83 innings of work spread across four levels of the minors that saw him post a 2.49 ERA while striking out 30.3% of batters faced. If he can post anything close to those numbers in the majors, even in a bullpen role, he would surely be a valuable asset to the Red Sox as they attempt to chase their first playoff appearance since 2021.

Red Sox Select Joely Rodriguez, Naoyuki Uwasawa

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The Red Sox announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contracts of left-hander Joely Rodriguez and right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa — the latter of whom was just acquired from the Rays yesterday. Rodriguez will head straight to the MLB roster, while Uwasawa has been optioned to extended spring training. Righty Liam Hendriks (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and southpaw Chris Murphy (UCL sprain) have been placed on the 60-day IL to create 40-man roster space. Boston also placed righty Bryan Mata (hamstring strain) on the 15-day IL and placed infielder Vaughn Grissom (hamstring strain) and utilityman Rob Refsnyder (broken toe) on the 10-day IL.

Rodriguez, 32, was with the Sox in 2023 but pitched just 11 innings due to oblique, shoulder and hip injuries that combined to result in three different stints on the injured list. He posted a 6.55 ERA in his short time on the mound, striking out 27.5% of his opponents against an 11.8% walk rate and 45.2% ground-ball rate. He re-signed with the Sox on a minor league deal and turned in a strong showing this spring, holding opponents to a pair of runs on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings of relief. He also recorded a massive 61.9% ground-ball rate.

Looking beyond last year’s struggles, Rodriguez has a decent track record in recent years. From 2020-22, Rodriguez pitched 109 1/3 frames between the Rangers, Yankees and Mets, working to a 4.28 ERA with even more encouraging secondary marks. Rodriguez fanned 25.5% of his opponents in that time and induced grounders at a huge 55.7% clip. His 10.3% walk rate was still a couple ticks north of the league average, but the lefty offered an enticing blend of missed bats and grounders while excelling at keeping the ball in the park (0.58 HR/9). Metrics like FIP (3.14) and SIERA (3.51) were rather bullish on his work.

Uwasawa, 30, has a long track record of success in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but inked a minor league pact with the Rays over the winter. He most recently tossed 170 innings with a 2.96 ERA in NPB, though that strong mark was accompanied by a lackluster 17.8% strikeout rate and sub-par velocity. Last September, MLBTR contributor Dai Takegami Podziewski noted that Uwasawa’s fastball velocity was averaging 90.8 mph during the 2023 NPB season. Uwasawa does boast a strong 7.5% walk rate, which dropped as low as 5.9% in 2023, but he’s generally viewed as a soft-tossing finesse pitcher.

It was a rocky spring for Uwasawa, who was torched for seven runs in two innings during his debut with the Rays. He had one more rough outing and a pair of solid appearances, and the Sox got a first-hand look at him as they were his opponent in two of his four official spring outings. Uwasawa finished up his Grapefruit League campaign with a grisly 13.03, thanks largely to that first meltdown, but his track record in Japan and low cost of acquisition make him a reasonable enough flier for a Red Sox club that is thin on pitching depth after trading Chris Sale and seeing Lucas Giolito and the aforementioned Murphy go down with UCL injuries.

Red Sox Sign Liam Hendriks

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Feb. 20, 10:37am: Hendriks will earn $2MM in 2024 and $6MM in 2025, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. There’s also a $2MM buyout on the 2026 option, which is valued at $12MM. The $10MM worth of incentives in the deal are all tied to Hendriks’ 2025 performance, Cotillo adds. Half of that incentives package is tied to games finished, and the other half is tied to Hendriks’ total innings pitched. There are no incentives tied to the 2024 season.

10:25am:: The Red Sox have formally announced the signing of Hendriks to a two-year contract with a mutual option for a third season. This weekend’s trade of righty John Schreiber to the Royals opened a 40-man spot in Boston, so a corresponding move for Hendriks isn’t necessary.

Feb. 19: The Red Sox are reportedly in agreement with right-hander Liam Hendriks on a two-year deal that will guarantee him $10MM, though he can earn as much as $20MM via incentives. There’s also a 2026 mutual option for the ALIGND Sports Agency client. The deal is pending a physical.

Hendriks, 35, was the AL’s Comeback Player of the Year award winner in 2023 after he managed to return to the mound five months after he began undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in early January before announcing that he was cancer-free in April. Unfortunately, Hendriks’ amazing comeback was cut short after just five appearances due to a bout of elbow inflammation, which ended up leading to the veteran undergoing Tommy John surgery back in August. Hendriks’ lengthy impending rehab led the White Sox to decline their club option on his services for the 2024 season, allowing him to hit the open market back in November.

While 2023 was something of a lost season for Hendriks, he’s long been one of the most dominant relievers in the sport. The right-hander debuted as a starting pitcher with the Twins back in 2011, though he struggled in the role for Minnesota, Kansas City, and Toronto with a 5.92 ERA in 39 appearances across four seasons before the Blue Jays decided to move him to the bullpen full time in 2015. The role change did wonders for Hendriks’ performance, as he pitched to a strong 2.92 ERA with an even better 2.14 FIP across 64 2/3 innings of work for the club that year. That season, Hendriks struck out a solid 27.2% of batters faced while allowing free passes at a minimal 4.2% clip.

The Blue Jays didn’t retain Hendriks after his breakout campaign, instead dealing him to the Oakland A’s prior to the 2016 season. During his first few years in Oakland, Hendriks came back down to earth a bit, pitching to relatively middling results out of the club’s bullpen with a 4.01 ERA and a 3.24 FIP across 152 2/3 innings of work from 2016 to 2018. Hendriks returned to form in 2019, however. When then-A’s closer Blake Treinen struggled to a 4.91 ERA during the 2019 season, Hendriks took over the closer’s role and did not look back with an incredible 1.80 ERA with a 1.78 FIP in 85 innings of work.

The righty continued that strong performance in 2020, his final year of club control. He headed into the open market after racking up 14 more saves in the shortened season, posting a 1.78 ERA thanks to a huge 40.2% strikeout rate and tiny 3.3% walk rate. He landed a three-year, $54MM deal with the White Sox with a complicated club option for 2024. The salary and buyout on that option were both $15MM, though the buyout would spread the payouts over a 10-year period.

He continued to serve as a lockdown closer for the first two years of that deal before, as mentioned, going through various challenges in the third. With Hendriks looking at missing at least the first few months of 2024, the White Sox went for the $15MM opt-out instead of the $15MM salary. Despite those matching figures, they will save money in long run by holding that money, collecting interest on it and paying it out later when inflation has reduced its value.

Hendriks went into the open market unable to market himself for much of the 2024 season. He is targeting a trade deadline return from last year’s surgery, though that would be on the ambitious end of typical Tommy John recovery timelines since he just went under the knife a year ago.

It would obviously be great news if Hendriks is back on the mound in August or September but the signing for the Red Sox is more about 2025. The club has Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin as their top relievers this year but both are impending free agents and each have been in trade rumors this offseason. The club seems to have little hesitation about subtracting from this year’s relief corps, as they recently traded John Schreiber and flipped Nick Robertson earlier in the winter as part of the Tyler O’Neill deal.

Overall, the club’s offseason has been more focused on the future than the present. The move for O’Neill and the signing of Lucas Giolito were nice adds for this year, but they’ve also been seemingly trying to keep payroll fairly low and have sent out players with minimal club control like Chris Sale and Alex Verdugo. While they’re not exactly tearing things down to the studs as part of a deep rebuild, they do seem to be aware that they need to think about the long term after a couple of last place finishes in the A.L. East in past two seasons.

Signing Hendriks fits into that, as he will upgrade next year’s roster more than this one’s. There’s also some financial wiggle room due to their relatively modest winter. Roster Resource pegs their current payroll at $181MM, even after the Hendriks signing. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they were twice were over $230MM a few years back and at $207MM two years ago. RR also has their competitive balance tax now at $202MM, nowhere near the $237MM base threshold of the tax.

If the Sox find themselves in contention later this year, perhaps Hendriks can come back from his rehab and join their bullpen for the stretch run. But for next year, he potentially gives the club an elite closer at a relative modest salary, providing an early solution to the departures of Jansen and Martin.

Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive first reported the sides were nearing an agreement and that Hendriks was present at the club’s Spring Training facility in Florida. Buster Olney of ESPN first had the two years and $10MM guarantee. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com relayed the 2026 mutual option. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the potential to get to $20MM via incentives.

Liam Hendriks Weighing Multiple Offers

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Three-time All-Star reliever Liam Hendriks is weighing multiple offers from interested clubs, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Hendriks, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery and aiming to return to action around the trade deadline this season, has set a deadline of tomorrow to sign with a team, per Passan. If he doesn’t sign by tomorrow — presumably meaning, if a team doesn’t meet whatever asking price he’s set — he’ll rehab on his own for the next several months and look to sign with a club closer to his return date.

Hendriks turned 35 last week. His ascension from a fringe arm riding the DFA carousel back in 2013-15 to one of the sport’s premier relievers is one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent memory. Hendriks was designated for assignment four times and placed on waivers without a public DFA on another occasion and traded in three different minor swaps along the way. In 2018, the A’s not only designated him for assignment for the fourth (and final) time in his career — they succeeded in passing Hendriks through waivers unclaimed.

Hendriks posted solid but unremarkable numbers as a low-leverage reliever for the A’s from 2016-18 but returned from that outright in 2019 as an entirely different pitcher. He scrapped his sinker, leaned far more heavily into a four-seamer that had jumped by more than 1.5 mph in average velocity, and became a two-pitch powerhouse who flummoxed opponents with his four-seamer/slider combo.

That devastating pair of pitches quickly catapulted Hendriks to the ranks of baseball’s elite bullpen arms. From 2019-22, he pitched 239 innings with 114 saves, an overwhelming 38.8% strikeout rate and a pristine 5.1% walk rate. In addition to his trio of All-Star nods, Hendriks twice won the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award and inked a huge three-year, $54MM contract with the White Sox.

The 2023 season brought about a sobering bit of disheartening news, as Hendriks announced last offseason that he’d been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and would immediately embark on a wave of chemotherapy treatment. Just three and a half months later, Hendriks triumphantly announced that he was cancer-free. He began a rehab assignment in early May and returned to the Majors on May 29 — remarkably less than four months after making his original announcement.

It was a feel-good story for White Sox fans amid a disastrous start to the season, but the good vibes didn’t last long. Hendriks was placed back on the injured list just two weeks later, this time due to inflammation in his right elbow. While the issue was initially believed to be relatively minor — Hendriks at first expressed optimism he’d be back in a matter of weeks — damage to his ulnar collateral ligament was either discovered shortly thereafter or developed over the course of his rehab. There’d been no prior public indication that surgery was even a consideration, but the Sox announced on Aug. 2 that Hendriks was slated for Tommy John surgery.

Hendriks’ track record is strong enough that he ought to be a clear candidate for a big league deal — likely a two-year arrangement that’ll allow him the opportunity to rehab with a team’s medical staff for the bulk of this season with an eye toward either a second-half return or a 2025 return. This type of contract is relatively common, though the fact that Hendriks is entering his age-35 season perhaps complicates the scenario to some extent.

There’s not a team in baseball that couldn’t use a healthy Hendriks in its bullpen. That won’t be an option until late August at the earliest and perhaps not until Opening Day 2025, depending on how his rehab progresses, but the track record alone should lead to plenty of interest.

The Top Unsigned Right-Handed Relievers

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Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in about two weeks but a slow offseason means there are still plenty of free agents out there. Over the past week, MLBTR has already taken a look at the remaining catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, shortstops, center fielders, corner outfielders, designated hitters,  starting pitchers and left-handed relievers. We’ll now wrap things up with a look at the right-handed relievers.

  • Phil Maton: Acquired from Cleveland in the 2021 Myles Straw trade, Maton has quietly been very effective over the past two years. Since the start of 2022, he has made 135 appearances for the Astros with a 3.42 earned run average. His 26.5% strikeout rate in that time is a few ticks above league average while his 8.8% walk rate is right around par. He’s been excellent at limiting hard contact, as seen on his Statcast page. His 23.5% hard hit rate last year was actually the best in the majors among qualified pitchers, while his average exit velocity was in the top five. In 2022, he was in the top 10 in both those categories as well. He missed the 2022 postseason due to injury but made six scoreless appearances for the Astros in last year’s playoffs. He has received reported interest this offseason from teams like the Phillies, Yankees and Cardinals.
  • Ryne Stanek: Another former Astro, Stanek has made 186 appearances over the past three years with a 2.90 ERA. He has struck out 27% of batters faced but also given out walks at a 12.2% clip. That strikeout rate fell to 23.9% in 2023, but he also cut his walk rate to 9.9%, a career low for him. He has reportedly received interest from the Cubs, Red Sox and Mets this winter.
  • Ryan Brasier: The 2023 season was inconsistent for Brasier, a reflection of his career overall. After a stint in Japan, he returned to North America with the Red Sox in 2018, posting a 1.60 ERA. From there, his season-by-season ERA went to 4.85, 3.96, 1.50, 5.78 and then 3.02 in the most recent campaign. That 2023 ERA involved a 7.29 mark with the Red Sox and then a tiny 0.70 figure with the Dodgers. When combining his time with both of those clubs last year, his peripherals ended up pretty close to his career numbers. He struck out 23.5% of batters faced and gave out walks to 8% of them last year, near his career rates of 24.1% and 7.4%. Since he finished the year on such a strong note, he has received a fair amount of interest this winter, with clubs like the Cardinals, Dodgers, Angels, Cubs, Orioles, Rangers and Yankees connected to him at various points.
  • Jesse Chavez: Though he’s now 40 years old, Chavez doesn’t seem to be slowing down. He made 36 appearances for Atlanta last year with a 1.56 ERA. He surely had a bit of help from the baseball gods there, with a .273 batting average on balls in play and 81.2% strand rate, but the peripherals were still strong. He struck out 27.1% of batters faced, walked 8.3% and kept 51.7% of balls in play on the ground. His 3.05 FIP and 3.35 SIERA were much higher than his ERA but still represent solid work. He missed about three months of last season after being hit in the leg by a comebacker but was back on the mound before the end of the year.
  • Liam Hendriks: If Hendriks were healthy right now, he would be on the top of this list. He cemented himself as one of the best closers in baseball a few years ago and racked up 115 saves over the past five seasons. He has a 2.32 ERA since the start of 2019, having struck out 38.3% of batters faced while walking just 5.1% of them. Unfortunately, 2023 was an incredibly challenging year for the right-hander, as he first had to undergo treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After winning that battle and returning to the mound, he required Tommy John surgery in early August. Since the rehab for that procedure generally goes beyond one year, it’s questionable whether he will be able to pitch at all in the upcoming campaign, though he has said he’s targeting a return around the trade deadline. He can likely find a two-year deal somewhere, with the signing club understanding that they will have a better shot of getting return on their investment in 2025.

Honorable mentions: Jay Jackson, Brad Boxberger, Shintaro Fujinami, Derek Law, Mark Melancon, Matt Barnes

Liam Hendriks Targeting Trade Deadline Return From Tommy John Surgery

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Free agent right-hander Liam Hendriks underwent Tommy John surgery in early August and is hoping to be back on the mound roughly one year after going under the knife. He tells Scott Merkin of MLB.com that he’s targeting next year’s trade deadline as a return goal. It appears he has had conversations with some teams but nothing is imminent in terms of getting a deal done.

Hendriks, 35 in February, is wrapping up a challenging year dominated by off-field concerns. He announced in January that he would be starting treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He completed his chemotherapy treatment in April and announced that he was declared free of cancer shortly after that. He began a rehab assignment in early May and was activated from the injured list by the end of that month. Just a couple of weeks later, he landed on the injured list due to elbow inflammation and required TJS in early August, having thrown just five big league innings for the year.

As part of the deal he originally signed with the White Sox, they had a $15MM club option for 2024 that came with a $15MM buyout. The difference, however, was the timing of those equal payments. They decided to buy him out and pay him $1.5MM in 10 annual installments as opposed to picking it up, which would involve paying the entire amount during the 2024 campaign.

Now a free agent, Hendriks will be a long-term play for any interested club, as he’ll miss at least the first few months of the upcoming season. Any club that signs him would be hoping for a late-season boost to the bullpen or would perhaps just be thinking about 2025. One of those teams is the Cubs, with Hendriks relaying that they reached out, but it appears those talks were more preliminary than anything.

“There’s been nothing substantial about any of the conversations we’ve had,” he said. “But they were one of the teams that reached out pretty early on.” It seems other clubs are taking a similar wait-and-see approach. “Obviously, we are in no rush. My timeline hasn’t changed. I’m not going to be ready in April. Teams are making sure they really get their main part of 2024 set up. We’ve had some clubs call and be like, ‘Once it heats up, let us know.’”

His ultimate market might come down to who still has a bit of money left in their budget after the other free agents are signed and Spring Training approaches. But whoever does get him to put pen to paper will obviously be banking on his tremendous run as an elite closer, prior to his mostly lost season in 2023. From 2019 to 2022, he posted a 2.26 earned run average over 226 appearances, racking up 114 saves in the process. He struck out 38.8% of batters faced while walking just 5.1% of them.

If he can get back to anything close to that kind of performance, he would upgrade any bullpen in the league. But for now, it seems he has to wait for things to progress. His target is on the shorter end of the typical TJS return but he could be an intriguing wild card in the 2024 campaign even if he misses that goal by a month or so. On MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents post, Hendriks was predicted to secure a two-year, $12MM contract.

White Sox To Decline Option On Liam Hendriks

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The White Sox are declining their club option on right-hander Liam Hendriks, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Instead of retaining him for 2024 with a $15MM salary, they will pay him a $15MM buyout but spread over the next ten years in annual instalments of $1.5MM. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in August and is likely to miss the 2024 season.

Hendriks, 35 in February, signed with the Sox going into 2021. The three-year deal came with a three-year, $54MM guarantee. He would make $39MM over the first three years, with the $15MM option/buyout for 2024. He continued to pitch well over the first two years of the deal, racking up 75 saves over those two seasons with a 2.66 ERA, 39.4% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate.

But 2023 provided Hendriks with some significant challenges. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the offseason and had to miss the start of the year undergoing treatment. By the end of April, he was cancer free and began ramping up for a return to the club. He was activated in late May, making five appearances before landing on the injured list due to elbow inflammation, which eventually led him requiring Tommy John surgery.

Since he’s likely to miss the upcoming campaign, it’s understandable that the Sox would take the buyout. Though it’s the same amount as the salary of the option, it’s easier to pay it over 10 years than in one, especially with inflation reducing the value of currency over time. Also, there’s no injured list between the World Series and Spring Training, meaning Hendriks would require a roster spot all winter if the option were picked up. By taking the buyout, the Sox free up a spot for the coming months.

Now Hendriks will head to the open market and be free to sign with any club. Though he still has a lengthy rehab process in front of him, players in this situation often sign two-year deals. The players gets some cash to cover the rehab process while the club gets control over one post-rehab season.

Righty Tommy Kahnle signed one such contract when he and the Dodgers agreed to a two-year deal going into 2021. Kahnle was guaranteed $4.75MM plus incentives. He didn’t have the same track record as Hendriks and that winter’s market was generally deflated after the lost revenues of 2020, so it seems fair to expect Hendriks to be able to top that guarantee.

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