Red Sox to sign former White Sox All-Star closer (report)
The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a deal with reliever Liam Hendriks pending a physical.
The contract is for two-year and $10 million guaranteed according to Buster Olney of ESPN. Hendriks contract could reach $20 million with incentives and also includes a third-year mutual option, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
The deal was first reported by Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive.
Hendriks is a veteran righty who was a three-time All-Star from 2019-2022 and was one of the more dominant closers in baseball. Over that span, he pitched to a 2.26 ERA in 239 innings while striking out 359 batters. He collected over 35 saves in back-to-back seasons (2021 and 2022) before being diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The 35-year old battled through cancer and returned to the mound in May of 2023. His return earned him the AL Comeback Player of the Year despite only throwing five innings. Unfortunately, he had to have Tommy John surgery after tearing his UCL in June.
The Perth, Australia native is still rehabbing his elbow and is looking to be back on the mound around the trade deadline, according to Cotillo. Hendriks had imposed a self-deadline of signing with a team before Thursday. If he remained unsigned, Hendriks would have waited until mid-season or closer to his target return date.
Hendriks is a low risk signing for the Red Sox and will provide bullpen depth once he returns from injury. He is the second reliever that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has signed this offseason who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Former Cubs reliever Michael Fulmer signed a two-year, MiLB deal with the Red Sox in February. He is expected to pitch in 2025.
With Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin as free agents after the season, Hendricks could end up playing a major role for the team in 2025.