The last two years have been a roller coaster for Liam Hendriks, but he’s back on top of it now.
Hendriks, who has not pitched in nearly two years, has been activated off the injured list, as his Tommy John rehab is finally complete.
The Australian had surgery in the summer of 2023, and while there’s never an ideal time for such an injury, luck simply was not on Hendriks’ side.
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Hendriks’ 2023 debut was postponed as he battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma earlier that year. He did not make his season debut until May 29 but appeared in just five games before going under the knife. The surgery caused him to miss the rest of that season and all of last year.
Now with the Boston Red Sox, Hendriks will make his long-awaited return to the bump.
Hendriks appeared in spring training, but arm soreness kept him on the IL to begin the season. He tried to make a comeback last year, but he suffered a setback that cost him late.
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Before the injury, Hendriks had become one of the most prominent closers in all of baseball, leading the majors with 38 saves in 2021 with the Chicago White Sox.
Hendriks went to three-consecutive All-Star Games from 2019 to 2022. (There was no midsummer classic in 2020.)
The pitcher owns a lifetime 3.82 ERA, but that’s inflated from his early-career struggles. From his rookie year in 2011 through 2014, Hendriks struggled as a starter and owned a 5.92 ERA.
But something clicked after he became a full-time reliever with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, as he owned a 2.92 ERA in 54 outings out of the bullpen.
Then, over his next eight seasons with the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox, he proved that 2015 was no fluke, as he’s owned a 2.97 ERA since.
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