New Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks reflects on time with the White Sox
The Red Sox made a surprising signing this week when they inked former White Sox closer Liam Hendriks to a two-year, $10 million deal. The new reliever is going to miss the first half of the season, rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but is hopeful he’ll be back by the trade deadline.
Hendriks comes to the Red Sox after spending the last three seasons with the White Sox where he was a dominant closer. His first two seasons playing for the Southside, he made the All-Star team. He saved 75 games over a two year span with the White Sox before his non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis.
The righty made a comeback, pitching in five games last season, recording one save and winning the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year award in the American League.
Hendriks time with the White Sox is now in the rearview mirror, that didn’t stop him from reflecting as to why the teams he played for in Chicago weren’t more successful.
"We had too many guys pulling in different directions, too many cooks in the kitchen trying to fix what they thought was [wrong],” Hendriks said to the Chicago Sun Times. “There’s a lot of Type A people in a clubhouse. You’ve got certain people thinking, ‘This is the way it’s got to go.’ Certain people want to fix something, so they just scream and yell until someone fixes it. There wasn’t, honestly, enough positivity and eagerness to go out there and play on a day-to-day basis.”
Hendriks also added that his fellow teammates didn’t like how open and accessible he was with the media.
“Some guys thought I was seeking too much attention,” he said. “But when you answer questions in a non-generic way, they tend to come to you a little bit more. And I’m not one to shy away from a conversation, whether it be uncomfortable, whether I’m going well, whether I’m going poorly. I want to be as transparent as I can, because baseball is a very stoic man’s sport.
“When I started being transparent, knowing what my flaws were and embracing them, that’s when I started having success on the field and when I started having success away from the field. We’re all human, and I want to make sure I remain true to myself. I want to make sure that I live as well at the field as I do away from it.”
Hendriks now can turn the page, focus on his rehab with the Red Sox and get ready to return to baseball later this season. Boston gave him a two-year deal, most of the money is locked into 2025. With his arm essentially fixed, the Red Sox potentially have their closer for 2025 and he could close games later this season, especially if current closer Kenley Jansen is traded.
Great signing!!!