All-Star closer Liam Hendriks has found a new team.
According to multiple reports, Hendriks and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal. The contract includes incentives that could increase the value to $20 million, and there is also a third-year mutual option that could keep Hendriks off the free agent market until 2027.
Hendriks, 35, isn’t quite at the end of a rough spell that included a life-threatening illness and career-altering surgery. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January 2023 while he was with the Chicago White Sox, and immediately began cancer treatment. He had to begin the season on the injured list, but made his triumphant return to the majors on May 30.
Unfortunately, he was only able to make five total appearances before injuring his elbow. There was hope throughout the summer he’d be able to avoid surgery, but he underwent Tommy John surgery on August 2. Despite that, he was voted 2023 American League comeback player of the year.
Tommy John surgery typically requires at least 12 months of recovery for pitchers, so why would the Red Sox sign a pitcher they almost certainly can’t use this season? When he’s not injured or getting life-saving cancer treatment, Hendriks is a great closer. In the two seasons he spent with the White Sox before 2023, he had a 2.66 ERA over 127 games and 128 2/3 innings pitched. He finished 109 games, saved 75, and struck out 198 hitters.
When Hendriks is fully healthy at the start of the 2025 season, he’ll be 36, but his arm will have had the last two years off. That’s a great deal for the Red Sox, who will already have a major bullpen piece in place once next offseason comes along. And a great deal for Hendriks, who can spend 2024 recovering from surgery with a job guaranteed in 2025.
