Red Sox Sign Liam Hendriks

Feb. 20, 10:37am: Hendriks will earn $2MM in 2024 and $6MM in 2025, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. There’s additionally a $2MM buyout on the 2026 choice, which is valued at $12MM. The $10MM price of incentives within the deal are all tied to Hendriks’ 2025 efficiency, Cotillo provides. Half of that incentives package deal is tied to video games completed, and the opposite half is tied to Hendriks’ whole innings pitched. There aren’t any incentives tied to the 2024 season.

10:25am:: The Pink Sox have formally introduced the signing of Hendriks to a two-year contract with a mutual choice for a 3rd season. This weekend’s commerce of righty John Schreiber to the Royals opened a 40-man spot in Boston, so a corresponding transfer for Hendriks isn’t obligatory.

Feb. 19: The Pink Sox are reportedly in settlement with right-hander Liam Hendriks on a two-year deal that can assure him $10MM, although he can earn as a lot as $20MM through incentives. There’s additionally a 2026 mutual choice for the ALIGND Sports activities Company consumer. The deal is pending a bodily.

Hendriks, 35, was the AL’s Comeback Participant of the Yr award winner in 2023 after he managed to return to the mound 5 months after he started present process therapy for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in early January earlier than asserting that he was cancer-free in April. Sadly, Hendriks’ superb comeback was reduce brief after simply 5 appearances attributable to a bout of elbow irritation, which ended up resulting in the veteran present process Tommy John surgical procedure again in August. Hendriks’ prolonged impending rehab led the White Sox to say no their membership choice on his providers for the 2024 season, permitting him to hit the open market again in November.

Whereas 2023 was one thing of a misplaced season for Hendriks, he’s lengthy been probably the most dominant relievers within the sport. The correct-hander debuted as a beginning pitcher with the Twins again in 2011, although he struggled within the function for Minnesota, Kansas Metropolis, and Toronto with a 5.92 ERA in 39 appearances throughout 4 seasons earlier than the Blue Jays determined to maneuver him to the bullpen full time in 2015. The function change did wonders for Hendriks’ efficiency, as he pitched to a powerful 2.92 ERA with a fair higher 2.14 FIP throughout 64 2/3 innings of labor for the membership that 12 months. That season, Hendriks struck out a strong 27.2% of batters confronted whereas permitting free passes at a minimal 4.2% clip.

The Blue Jays didn’t retain Hendriks after his breakout marketing campaign, as an alternative dealing him to the Oakland A’s previous to the 2016 season. Throughout his first few years in Oakland, Hendriks got here again right down to earth a bit, pitching to comparatively middling outcomes out of the membership’s bullpen with a 4.01 ERA and a 3.24 FIP throughout 152 2/3 innings of labor from 2016 to 2018. Hendriks returned to type in 2019, nevertheless. When then-A’s nearer Blake Treinen struggled to a 4.91 ERA throughout the 2019 season, Hendriks took over the nearer’s function and didn’t look again with an unimaginable 1.80 ERA with a 1.78 FIP in 85 innings of labor.

The righty continued that sturdy efficiency in 2020, his closing 12 months of membership management. He headed into the open market after racking up 14 extra saves within the shortened season, posting a 1.78 ERA due to an enormous 40.2% strikeout fee and tiny 3.3% stroll fee. He landed a three-year, $54MM take care of the White Sox with a sophisticated membership choice for 2024. The wage and buyout on that choice had been each $15MM, although the buyout would unfold the payouts over a 10-year interval.

He continued to function a lockdown nearer for the primary two years of that deal earlier than, as talked about, going by way of numerous challenges within the third. With Hendriks lacking not less than the primary few months of 2024, the White Sox went for the $15MM opt-out as an alternative of the $15MM wage. Regardless of these matching figures, they’ll get monetary savings in future by holding that cash, gathering curiosity on it and paying it out later when inflation has decreased its worth.

Hendriks went into the open market unable to market himself for a lot of the 2024 season. He’s focusing on a commerce deadline return from final 12 months’s surgical procedure, although that may be on the formidable finish of typical Tommy John restoration timelines since he simply went beneath the knife a 12 months in the past.

It might clearly be nice information if Hendriks is again on the mound in August or September however the signing for the Pink Sox is extra about 2025. The membership has Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin as their high relievers this 12 months however each are impending free brokers and every have been in commerce rumors this offseason. The membership appears to have little hesitation about subtracting from this 12 months’s reduction corps, as they lately traded John Schreiber and flipped Nick Robertson earlier within the winter as a part of the Tyler O’Neill deal.

Total, the membership’s offseason has been extra targeted on the long run than the current. The transfer for O’Neill and the signing of Lucas Giolito had been good provides for this 12 months, however they’ve additionally been seemingly making an attempt to maintain payroll pretty low and have despatched out gamers with minimal membership management like Chris Sale and Alex Verdugo. Whereas they’re not precisely tearing issues right down to the studs as a part of a deep rebuild, they do appear to be conscious that they want to consider the long run after a few final place finishes within the A.L. East in previous two seasons.

Signing Hendriks matches into that, as he’ll improve subsequent 12 months’s roster greater than this one’s. There’s additionally some monetary wiggle room attributable to their comparatively modest winter. Roster Useful resource pegs their present payroll at $181MM, even after the Hendriks signing. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they had been twice had been over $230MM a number of years again and at $207MM two years in the past. RR additionally has their aggressive stability tax now at $202MM, nowhere close to the $237MM base threshold of the tax.

If the Sox discover themselves in rivalry later this 12 months, maybe Hendriks can come again from his rehab and be part of their bullpen for the stretch run. However for subsequent 12 months, he doubtlessly offers the membership an elite nearer at a relative modest wage, offering an early answer to the departures of Jansen and Martin.

Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive first reported the perimeters had been nearing an settlement and that Hendriks was current on the membership’s Spring Coaching facility in Florida. Buster Olney of ESPN first had the 2 years and $10MM assure. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com relayed the 2026 mutual choice. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the potential to get to $20MM through incentives.