Liam Hendriks has been a great major league pitcher, and is beloved around the sport for many deserving reasons.
Unfortunately, his time with the Boston Red Sox hasn’t worked out how anyone would have hoped.
Hendriks missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but the Red Sox had high hopes that he would bounce back and be an important piece in their bullpen this year. After more injury frustration, some struggles, and some apparent tension with the organization, it appears that year is coming to an unceremonious end.
On Saturday, Christopher Smith of MassLive reported that Hendriks had been shut down with forearm tightness during his rehab from a previous hip injury that put him on the 60-day injured list. For all intents and purposes, his chances of contributing to the Red Sox for the remainder of the season are done, and as an impending free agent, it’s hard to envision a reunion this winter.
“He had a setback a few weeks ago,” manager Alex Cora said, per Smith. “Kind of like got tight on the forearm. So they shut him down.”
“I don’t know if he’s done-done for the year but it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to be a part of it.”
There was also an awkward incident in early August when Hendriks seemingly got upset with Cora for saying he wasn’t sure the righty would be back at any point this season, which proved prophetic.
Cora said he apologized to Hendriks and that the two cleared the air, but when the skipper said, “That’ll be great” in reference to the 36-year-old pitching again this season (per Smith), it was reasonable to wonder how much he truly meant it.
Hendriks was 0-2 with a 6.59 ERA in 14 appearances this season, a far cry from his dominant form with the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox. From 2019 to 2021, he was a three-time All-Star, a two-time American League Reliever of the Year, and put up a 2.26 ERA.
Having battled back from a cancer diagnosis and Tommy John recovery in the years since, it’s obvious Hendriks still has a ways to go to rediscovering that dominant form. But if he can ever achieve that objective, it feels highly unlikely that will happen in a Red Sox uniform.
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