Red Sox’s Liam Hendriks Gives Surprisingly Hopeful Injury Update

Liam Hendriks may pitch again this season after all.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Sunday that he didn’t expect Hendriks to return in 2025. The relief pitcher went on the injured list at the end of May with a right hip injury and was transferred to the 60-day IL after suffering a setback last month.

A day after Cora’s pessimistic update, Hendriks provided a much more hopeful outlook. According to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the three-time All-Star is confident that he’ll return this season.

“Hendriks said he had a follow-up conversation with Alex Cora in which both agreed he’s on a path to contribute again in 2025,” Speier wrote on Bluesky. “Hendriks said he was originally diagnosed with a hernia, but that the diagnosis was changed to an abdominal strain.”

The initial injury occurred after Hendriks pitched two innings in a game on May 8 for the first time in four years. Hendriks had missed nearly two full calendar years before returning from Tommy John surgery in late April.

Hendriks feels he can quickly work his way back once he’s cleared to start throwing, but the 36-year-old doesn’t have a timetable for that crucial step.

The Australian also delivered quite the quote to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo when discussing a second opinion he received.

“I saw a different guy and he was like, ‘You’ve got the body of a gorilla but you’ve got the hips of a cheerleader,'” Hendriks said. “I didn’t like that euphemism as much. I like, ‘Your body is a brick (expletive)-house and your door is made out of a sheet.'”

Hendriks is no longer the shutdown stopper who posted a 2.20 ERA with 114 saves and the highest WAR (9.5) of any reliever from 2019 to 2022. He allowed 12 hits, seven walks and 11 runs in 13 2/3 innings for the Red Sox earlier this season.

Hendriks could nevertheless bolster Boston’s bullpen down the stretch if he can return to a small semblance of the pre-surgery star.