Former Chicago White Sox Closer Reportedly Mulling Multiple Options as He Rehabs Elbow Injury
Former Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks is reportedly weighing multiple options as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery.
Per Jeff Passan of ESPN:
Reliever Liam Hendriks has multiple offers and has set a deadline of Thursday to sign with a team, sources tell ESPN. If Hendriks doesn't sign now, he would keep rehabbing from Tommy John surgery on his own and throw for teams in late July before signing for the stretch run
There are certainly advantages to both situations for Hendriks:
1) If he signs now, he gets to rehab under the guidance of a team medical staff. He gets to be around a facility and gets to develop relationships with coaches and teammates. He also gets guaranteed money and doesn't have to worry about a setback that affects his earning potential.
2) The benefit of waiting is that he'll have a fuller picture of how the MLB season is shaping up. Who are the contenders? Who gives him the best chance to win a World Series? Who needs a closer specifically?
Hendriks underwent Tommy John surgery last August so coming back at all could be tough, but if he's able to get back by this August, that would represent the front end of the usual 12-14 month recovery timeline.
With Hendriks, perhaps anything is possible. He already beat a cancer diagnosis in the offseason after the 2022 season and returned in May of 2023 before injury the elbow.
A three-time All-Star, the 35-year-old is a 13-year big league veteran. He has played for the Twins, Royals, Blue Jays, Athletics and White Sox.
He starred with Chicago when healthy from 2021-2022. He led the league in saves in 2021 with 38. He also helped the White Sox get to the playoffs that year.
For his career, he's 33-34 with a 3.82 ERA. He's got 116 career saves, the bulk of which have come since 2019.
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