Liam

Hendriks

The 37-year-old hurler has thrown just 18 2/3 innings in the big leagues over the past three seasons, but as long as he’s healthy he could wind up being an integral part of the Twins’ bullpen. If he looks strong this spring, he could compete with Taylor Rogers and Justin Topa for save chances, making him worthy of a late-round flier in deeper mixed leagues.

It’s a full circle for Hendriks, who signed with the Twins as a teenager and made his major league debut for the club in 2011. One certainly can’t count on Hendriks staying healthy at age 37 after throwing just 18 2/3 innings in the majors the last three years, but if he does, there’s a good chance he’ll wind up leading the Twins in saves, given the state of their pen. If he impresses this spring, he could be worth a flier.

Hendriks is facing an extended absence after undergoing elbow surgery back in late September. The 36-year-old former closer wound up making just 14 relief appearances for the Red Sox during his two years with the club. It’s unclear whether there will be any interest on the open market, but he’s unlikely to find himself in any high leverage spots in the near future.

It’s officially a right elbow ulnar nerve transposition surgery with posterior interosseous nerve release. Hendriks insisted throughout the second half of the season that he intends to continue pitching, but he’s obviously not going to be an option for Boston during the postseason. The 36-year-old will likely hit free agency this offseason, assuming the Red Sox decline their end of his mutual option for 2026. It’s unclear at the moment how this latest surgical procedure impacts his readiness for next spring.

Cora added that Hendriks has been shut down from throwing after experiencing forearm tightness a couple weeks ago. The latest development slams the door on Hendriks potentially making it back to Boston’s bullpen mix for the postseason. The 36-year-old former closer has been out since late May recovering from hip inflammation.

This is interesting. Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters over the weekend that he didn’t expect Hendriks to pitch again this season. The 36-year-old veteran called that remark “a slip of the tongue” while speaking to reporters on Monday when he also expressed optimism that he’ll return before the end of the regular season. He’s been out since late May with right hip inflammation and remains without a definitive return timetable.

While they aren’t ruling it out completely, it sounds like the Red Sox would be very surprised if the 36-year-old hurler is able to make it back before the end of the season. He has been shelved since May 28 due to inflammation in his right hip.

Hendriks was transferred to the 60-day injured list earlier on Tuesday and will be on the shelf until at least late July. There should be an update on his status at some point later this week.

Hendriks has been out since May 28 with right hip inflammation, and there haven’t really been any updates on his status since. Maybe he’ll return in August, but it probably won’t be a closing candidate for the Red Sox.

Hendriks, 36, will need to miss at least two weeks, but there’s a good chance this will be a longer stint on the shelf than the minimum 15 days. The right-hander will be out of action and replaced by Nick Burdi on the active roster.