Red Sox

‘He’s taking all the right steps’: Red Sox still expect Liam Hendriks to pitch in 2024 as he progresses in rehab

Hendriks is targeting to make his Red Sox debut in August after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023.

Liam Hendriks signed a two-year deal with the Red Sox in February. Barry Chin/Globe Staff

June 30, 2024

Liam Hendriks has started to make important steps on his road to return from Tommy John surgery in recent days, stabilizing the Red Sox optimism that he’ll pitch in 2024.

The Red Sox reliever threw 15 pitches from the mound at Fenway Park ahead of Wednesday’s suspended game against the Blue Jays. He was back on the mound Friday, telling reporters he threw a 20-pitch bullpen session. Just like his bullpen session Wednesday, all 20 pitches in Friday’s session were fastballs.

As Hendriks is starting to make important steps on his road to return to the mound, Alex Cora is hopeful that it’s a continued sign he’ll be playing in important games down the stretch.

“He played catch a few days ago, felt good,” the Red Sox manager told reporters ahead of Sunday’s game against the Padres. “He’s been on point and he’s a very strong individual. Obviously, pushing the medical staff but we gotta be smart about it, and he knows it. I do believe he’s gonna be part of this at some point in the season.”

While the steps Hendriks made this week were important, his return definitely isn’t imminent. He told reporters Saturday that he plans to pitch in three bullpen sessions over the next. He also shared earlier in the week that he’s targeting to return at some point in August.

“That’s definitely doable for me,” Hendriks told reporters Wednesday. “Whether it is for them, I have no idea. I try to only know what I’m doing this week and next week I have no idea so that if I do have a setback, I’m not mentally messed up.

“As far as I know, we’re on track for August and that’s the goal.”

Cora didn’t provide any specifics on a return date when he spoke with reporters on Sunday, but he believes Hendriks is still on the right track.

“We don’t wanna cut corners in rehab but at the same time, the way they always talk about it, if he’s progressing, and not only him, we do feel like he’s taking all the right steps and it’s been good,” Cora said. “Sometimes they push him a little bit more and I do believe that that’s gonna be the case here.”

Regardless of when Hendriks returns, he’s looking forward to getting back into big-league action. The three-time All-Star hasn’t pitched much over the last two seasons, missing nearly two months in 2023 as he recovered from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He was placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation just over two weeks after his return and didn’t pitch again before having Tommy John surgery in August.

Even though they knew Hendriks would miss at least most of 2024, the Red Sox gave him a two-year, $10 million deal in February. Prior to his cancer diagnosis, Hendriks was one of the best closers in baseball, recording 114 saves and a 2.26 ERA between 2019-22. If Boston is able to keep up in the playoff race, Hendriks would obviously be a welcomed addition to the backend of the bullpen.

Hendriks is hoping that he gets the opportunity to prove the Red Sox right for giving him a contract.

“I don’t know whether the trainers love me or want to kill me,” Hendriks told reporters Wednesday. “Every day is a struggle to try and tell them to let me do more and them trying to hold me back into a normal stratosphere, which [stinks]. But we’ve been on a good plan, we keep doing it, and hopefully I can get a couple more bullpens so I can stop doing certain exercises that I hate doing and we can go from there.”