Liam Hendriks Makes Candid Admission About Red Sox Closer Battle

Boston Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks doesn’t need to be told the outcome of the closer battle he partook in with Aroldis Chapman.

Hendriks is well aware he isn’t going to win the job.

Hendriks said as much Thursday night following Boston’s 2-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Minnesota Twins as he was outperformed by Chapman throughout the spring slate.

“I think it’s been pretty well proven this spring training who deserves that spot after earning it all spring and that’s definitely not me,” Hendriks told reporters, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “I’ve always said I wanted to win it, but it’s not the end of the world if I don’t. I’m going to go out there and give my best three outs, six outs or whatever they need me to do.”

Hendriks, who didn’t pitch at all last season in his first year with the Red Sox as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, struggled to find his groove in the exhibition contests. The three-time All-Star posted a 9.95 ERA and 2.21 WHIP across 6 1/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Chapman looked like his prime self at 37 years old. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound lefty turned in a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP while recording 14 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. One of the biggest questions surrounding Chapman was his control and he showed it wasn’t an issue by allowing just one walk over his last six spring outings.

Hendriks most likely will slide into a set-up role now with Chapman in all likelihood getting the ninth. And Hendriks made sure to put his full support behind Chapman even though he lost out on the closer job.

“Things will shake out however they shake out, but if you want to talk about the guy who’s looked the best in spring training, that’s Chapman,” Hendriks said. “It’s been unbelievable. He’s been 97 to 100 (mph) pretty much every outing and he’s looked crisp and has looked little fantastic out there.”