Red Sox
Hendriks spent the entire 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and his hopes of a late-season return were dashed by a setback on Sept. 5.
Liam Hendriks has sped up his recovery after the All-Star break, but a setback will likely prevent him from pitching for Boston in 2024. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Liam Hendriks spent the entire season rehabbing before making his potential late-season debut as a reliever for Boston. However, according to Alex Cora’s latest update, it appears that Hendriks will not pitch at all for the Red Sox in 2024.
Hendriks stepped up his rehab after the All-Star break in hopes of rejoining Boston in late August. He pitched a few outings in AA Portland and AAA Worcester, but suffered a setback on September 5.
Hendriks hasn’t been able to do much rehab since then, and with the regular season down and Boston’s playoff hopes all but lost, it appears the veteran won’t get a chance to show his arm in Boston until 2025.
“He doesn’t play catch. … So basically, where we’re at right now, we’re probably going to neutralize him,” Cora told reporters Friday. “We’ve got nine games left in the regular season, so it’s going to be tough to get him going again.”
The setback is particularly disappointing given that Boston needed a boost in its bullpen. After starting the season strong with its starters and relievers, the Red Sox saw their roster shrink significantly after the All-Star break. As reported by The Boston GlobeAlex Speier, Boston’s bullpen, has a collective 6.14 ERA since the All-Star break (Sept. 17). During that span, the unit has allowed 7.2 runs per nine innings.
There’s no guarantee that adding Hendriks into the mix would fix things, but it couldn’t hurt to have his arm in the mix considering the Red Sox had the worst bullpen in MLB during the second half.
Boston signed Hendriks to a two-year deal last offseason, knowing he wouldn’t see much time on the mound in 2024. The hope is that Hendriks will be a full-time starter in 2025 and return to his pre-injury form. In four straight seasons between 2019 and 2022, Hendriks posted an ERA under 3.00. That includes two straight seasons with an ERA of 1.80 or lower in 2019 and 2020.
Hendricks saw just five games of action in 2023 before his injury sidelined him.
Seeing Hendriks play in a Red Sox uniform might have given some hope for next year. But Boston doesn’t want to take that risk and will lose the first season of Hendrik’s two-year contract.
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