Can Chicago Cubs World Series Vet Bounce Back After Solid Minor League Stint?

The Chicago Cubs will get their world series veteran back after a solid stint in the minor leagues, can he return to his old form?

Dylan Sanders | May 9, 2024

Apr 16, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks (28) throws in the first / Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

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Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs starting rotation has been a mixed bad of surprising stars and disappointing seasons, but overall has been solid.

One of the more disappointing players so far has been Kyle Hendricks, who got shelled in his first five starts of the season and then landed on the 15-day injured list with lower back injury.

So far in 2024, Kendricks has a 12.00 ERA and 2.095 WHIP. Those numbers aren’t good enough for anyone to last long in a rotation, even a World Series veteran.

The good news, though, is that he has done well in his two rehab starts, looking closer to what he has been for his career.

After two starts, the 34-year-old has a 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings of work. He still needs to work on cutting down the baserunners allowed, a 1.50 WHIP, but is escaping more risky situations.

One of the biggest differences has been his strikeout numbers, up to 13 already.

The down year hasn’t affected the staff too much. Since he went to the IL, they rank in the upper half of the league for most statistics.

Jameson Taillon, Javier Assad and Shota Imanaga each have a sub-1.5 ERA since his injury.

The performance of the pitchers ahead of him has allowed the veteran time to breathe in the minors.

There's so many guys throwing the ball so well up there. It's really helping me just stay patient, take it day-by-day, make sure I get right,” said Hendricks after his last start.

The California native is set to make another rehab start in AAA this weekend.

There has been some speculation about cutting him outright or maybe just moving him to the bullpen when he gets back to health.

The rotation might be performing well without him, but I don’t think it’s worth cutting a player that has been as good as he has been for as long.

He’ll likely get another start. If he gets shelled yet again, it’ll be time to move him to the bullpen.

Published May 9, 2024

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders