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Top Liam Hendriks News
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Behind Chapman for closer
Hendriks has fallen behind Aroldis Chapman in the battle to come Boston's closer, Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive.com report.
Hendriks had location issues during his first few Cactus League appearances but most recently threw a scoreless inning last Saturday. Per the report, the reliever corrected the command issues, but the quality of Chapman's stuff has put him over the top in the competition. Justin Slaten is also in the mix but appears destined for a setup role.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Manager not worried
Boston manager Alex Cora is not panicked by Hendriks' spring results thus far, Sean McAdam of MassLive.com reports. "The velo's good, he's just got to execute," Cora said Monday. "I think it's too early to be worried about that. As long as he's healthy, we're going to keep running him out there."
Hendriks was most recently tagged for two runs on three hits over one inning Sunday, the third consecutive outing in which the Red Sox's potential closer has given up runs. The manager pointed to Hendrik's velocity, which was at 91 mph early in camp before increasing to 96 mph in Grapefruit League games. Cora takes an optimistic tack, while others, like one rival scout told McAdam, see Hendriks has been missing location over the middle of the plate. There's still time for Hendriks (13.50 ERA, 11 hits, four spring innings) to stabilize, but at this point in the Grapefruit League, Boston's closer situation remains unsettled. Aroldis Chapman (4.91 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 3.2 spring innings) and Justin Slaten (no earned runs, three innings) are also in the mix.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Hits 96 mph in Grapefruit debut
Hendriks touched 96 mph while tossing a scoreless inning Wednesday versus the Rays in his Grapefruit League debut, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
He allowed a one-out single but got a swinging strikeout to strand that runner and end his frame. While adrenaline was surely at play in what was Hendriks' first game appearance since a rehab outing last June, the reliever topping out at 96 mph in late February is a good sign. He averaged less than 93 mph during his rehab assignment last year and was sitting 93-to-94 mph during a recent live batting practice session. Hendriks averaged 97.6 mph with his fastball during his last healthy season in 2022 and there's no guarantee he ever gets back to that level, but the hope is his velocity ticks up as we get closer to Opening Day. The 36-year-old is competing for Boston's closer job.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Slated to pitch Wednesday
Hendriks is slated to pitch in Wednesday's game against the Rays, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
This will be Hendriks' first Grapefruit League action of the year and his first game action since June of 2023. Aroldis Chapman is also expected to pitch in Wednesday's exhibition, while Justin Slaten is scheduled to throw a live batting practice. Therefore, as Browne wrote, the closer competition will officially get underway. In addition to Hendriks, Chapman and Slaten, Garrett Whitlock is expected to get late-inning work, so how each pitcher fares this spring will be important for determining who gets the first save chances of the year in Boston.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Fastball showing promise in live BP
Hendriks was sitting at 93-94 mph during a live batting practice session Tuesday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Hendriks was averaging less than 93 mph during his brief rehab assignment last season, so the velocity he's displaying early in spring training, while down considerably from his 97.6 mph average fastball speed during his last healthy season in 2022, seems fairly encouraging. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Hendriks' velocity is "trending up," per Tyler Milliken of 98.5 The Sports Hub, and he believes it will continue to tick up as Opening Day draws nearer. Hendriks is competing with Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten for Boston's closer job.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Closer committee possible
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Tuesday that he's open to the team using Hendriks and others in a closer by committee, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.
The Red Sox would surely prefer for someone to emerge as the clear choice to close, whether that's Hendriks, Aroldis Chapman, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock (elbow) or someone else, but if that doesn't happen they could use multiple guys in the role. Hendriks enters camp healthy and is viewed as the slight favorite to handle the ninth inning. However, he just turned 36 and made only six rehab appearances in 2024 after appearing in just five games in 2023, so it's uncertain how much rust may impact his performance, particularly early in the season.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Having normal offseason
Hendriks (elbow) said Wednesday he's been throwing bullpen sessions for a month and a half and is having "a pretty normal offseason," Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Hendriks was limited to just six rehab appearances in 2024 after making it back from Tommy John surgery and threw only 10 innings in 2023 after returning from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It would appear he will enter spring training without restrictions, but it's a mystery what Hendriks' stuff will look like considering how much time he's missed and the fact that he'll turn 36 in February. Browne writes that Hendriks "might be a slight favorite" to open 2025 as Boston's closer, but it's a tentative designation to say the least.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Optimism in front office
Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Hendriks (elbow) should be "fully healthy" to begin the 2025 season, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Breslow also cited Hendriks' "impressive track record at closing games," which suggests the door is open for the right-hander to win the closer's job. He didn't pitch in a competitive game during the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The identity of Boston's closer was thrown into uncertainty after the team agreed to terms last week with Aroldis Chapman on a deal that becomes official once Chapman passes a physical.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Unlikely to pitch this season
Manager Alex Cora said Friday that Hendriks (elbow) is likely to be shut down for the rest of the regular season, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
Hendriks has been on the shelf all season while recovering from Tommy John surgery performed last August. He began a rehab assignment in mid-August, and it looked like the 35-year-old reliever was poised to join the Red Sox bullpen in early September until he suffered a setback. There was still some hope that he would be able to return after receiving a cortisone injection in his right elbow Monday, but Cora relayed Friday that Hendriks hasn't played catch since getting the shot. With just nine games left in the regular season, it appears the veteran reliever will have to wait until 2025 to make his debut in a Red Sox uniform.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: May not be shut down after all
Hendriks said Friday that he will receive a cortisone injection in his right elbow Monday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Hendriks added that an MRI revealed fluid sacs near his right elbow, which could be taken care of with a cortisone shot, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. Hendriks is hoping to join the Boston bullpen for the last week or two of the regular season, but that will largely depend on the Red Sox staying in the AL wild-card race. He's in the final stretch of his recovery from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in August of 2023.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Likely to be shut down
Hendriks (elbow) will likely be shut down from throwing for the remainder of the season, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.
An MRI on Hendriks' elbow came back negative after he suffered a minor setback in his recovery last week, but it appears the 35-year-old reliever will not pitch in the majors this season. He threw five scoreless innings across six appearances between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester during his rehab assignment and will now presumably shift his focus to getting ready for the start of the 2025 campaign.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Suffers minor setback
Hendriks (elbow) had a minor setback in his rehab this week but said Friday that he remains convinced he will return this season, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
The setback prevented Hendriks from making rehab appearances on back-to-back days this week, as had been previously planned. Hendriks also said that while he expects to be effective upon his return, he thinks his stuff will fully bounce back to pre-surgery levels in 2025, when he will be under contract with Boston for one more season.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Could return as soon as Saturday
Hendriks (elbow) will make back-to-back appearances with Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday and Thursday and could be activated from the 60-day injured list as soon as Saturday, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.
Hendriks has allowed just one unearned run over his first four rehab innings, but he averaged just 92.8 mph with his fastball and 83.8 mph with his slider in his last appearance. Both numbers are significant dips from last season and down considerably from Hendriks' peak velocities in past years. That's not terribly surprising given his long layoff after elbow surgery, but the Red Sox might be anxious to put him into high-leverage spots until he rediscovers some velocity.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Makes fourth rehab appearance
Hendriks (elbow) walked one and struck out one over a scoreless inning for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.
The organization appears to be setting up Hendriks for late-inning work once he's ready for activation. His first three rehab outings came in the fifth and sixth innings, while Wednesday's was in the eighth for the WooSox. He'll pitch again Friday and is trending toward a return in the first or second week of September.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Fans two in rehab outing
Hendriks (elbow) allowed one unearned run on one hit and struck out two over two-thirds of an inning for Double-A Portland on Sunday.
Hendriks made the third appearance of his rehab assignment, throwing 19 pitches (13 for strikes). The pitcher is expected to make another three to five appearances in the minors before he's evaluated for activation.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Third rehab outing on tap
Hendriks (elbow) will make a third rehab appearance Sunday at Double-A Portland, MLB.com reports.
Hendriks opened his rehab assignment a week ago at Triple-A Worcester with an impressive 1-2-3 outing on 12 pitches (10 strikes) , then had less successful results four days later at Portland (one-third of an inning, one walk, one hit). The report estimates Hendriks could make between six to eight relief appearances while on assignment before being activated.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Shifting rehab to Double-A
Hendriks (elbow) is expected to have his rehab assignment transferred to Double-A Portland in the coming days, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Hendriks tossed a scoreless inning out of the bullpen with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday and he will now shift to face Double-A competition for his next few outings. The right-hander reported that he felt good after his first appearance and he'll continue to build up towards a potential return to the major-league bullpen in early September.
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Player Bio
| HT/WT: 6-0, 235 lbs |
| Birthplace: Perth, Australia |
| Age: 36 |
| Experience: 13 |
| Bats/Throws: R, R |
