Kyle Hendricks has been a starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs for a decade. He has seen the ups and downs of the North Siders over his tenure and was the last vestige of the World Series championship team from 2016. After Manager David Ross was let go in the 2023 offseason, Hendricks became the last remaining reminder of the team that broke the 108-year drought. 2016 was a great year for the Chicago Cubs and Hendricks himself, but both have fallen upon hard times in recent years and 2024 might have been the end of the line for the crafty right-hander.
Hendricks had been struggling to get hitters out for some time and his standing in the starting rotation had been descending for years as the Chicago Cubs looked to replace the pitchers that had aided them along their championship runs. This season took his struggles to another level. He was moved to the bullpen amidst his troubles and fans were wondering if it was going to be an unceremonious end for “The Professor.” Injuries brought Hendricks back to the starting rotation and he improved enough to stay through the end of the season.
Chicago Cubs Starter Puzzled By 2024
Kyle Hendricks has made a career out of baffling hitters and driving them mad with his sub-90 MPH sinker and 80 MPH changeup combination. In an age where velocity and spin rate have become gospel, Hendricks found success in another mold. His control, savviness, and cool demeanor were of a previous era, and for ten years he made it work in the current era. He was not a middling presence, either. Hendricks placed third in Cy Young voting in 2016 and touts a career 3.68 ERA. A reliable arm for the Chicago Cubs through their championship runs.
This season proved to be a big challenge for the right-hander from California. Hendricks had been scuffling in starts across the last few seasons but nothing like what he experienced in 2024. He couldn’t put hitters away like he once could. His command was still excellent and he even started mixing in his curveball more, but pitches that used to be whiffs were being fouled off, and pitches that were fought off were now being laced into the outfield. The weak contact that Hendricks had once generated was almost non-existent.
Chicago Cubs Manager Craig Counsell tried different things with the 34-year-old veteran like limiting how often he went through the order and taking Hendricks out of the game with runners in scoring position but nothing could alleviate his struggles and he was eventually moved to the bullpen after a faux IL stint. After some stabilizing outings out of the pen, injuries pressed Hendricks back into the starting rotation where he would stay for the rest of the season while never getting back to his true form until what could’ve been the final start of his Chicago Cubs career against the Cincinnati Reds.
Hendricks Unable To Retire Hitters
Throughout the season there was a different tone to Kyle Hendricks’ outings on the mound. For fans who had watched him for a decade there were certain differences that made this year a strenuous one for the Dartmouth graduate. Hitters weren’t on their toes when they fell behind in the count. With the increased use of his curveball as a get-me-over pitch early in counts, Hendricks didn’t have any issues creating count leverage, he just couldn’t finish the job a lot of the time and hitters could be more selective with what they offered.
For a pitcher who relied on hitters choosing to take a hack at a pitch just outside of the zone, this became a huge problem for Hendricks. Batters could easily fight off what they didn’t like and sit back on change-ups more easily, setting up more strong contact, line drives, and for the first time in his career, home runs. This became more pronounced with runners in scoring position. Hendricks had once thrived on overanxious hitters chomping at the bit with chances to drive in runs. That went from a strong suit to a weakness in 2024, cutting outings short and putting the Chicago Cubs behind the 8-ball.
Hendricks’ inability to provide length put more stress on the bullpen and made the job for Counsell more difficult. Hendricks’ 4-12 record and 5.92 ERA are a testament to that, numbers that were unfathomable heading into the year. The early season struggles made up the lion’s share of that ballooned ERA. For the first two months of 2024, Hendricks’ ERA was above 10.00 and led to his removal from the starting rotation. Although he would return and make better starts in the second half, the nail was in his coffin after his disastrous start to the year.
Reflecting On a Great Career
The second half of the season was much better for Kyle Hendricks. He was able to go longer in ball games and strand more runners. He was still leaving a lot to be desired compared to what he had once been able to do for the Chicago Cubs. He had two sparkling outings where he shut down the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, giving fans a glimpse into what Hendricks once could do regularly, but these were aberrations that he couldn’t replicate.
The outing against the Reds was his final outing of the season and it fitting came at home in front of the Wrigley Field faithful. In front of the fans who had supported him for ten years, Hendricks worked 7.1 scoreless innings before an adoring crowd that showered him with love after every inning. They roared when he was taken out of the game for what was likely the final time in a Chicago Cubs jersey. It might not have been the year he wanted, but Kyle Hendricks ended it in great fashion, turning back the clock to give the Chicago Cubs fans a finale to be proud of.
Kyle Hendricks has no contract in place going forward and his MLB future is in doubt. If this was the end, he could’ve done far worse in his decade-long stint with the Chicago Cubs. He made his debut in 2014 and pitched well enough to be in the running for a spot in the rotation. He left the Adam Warren competition in the dust on his way to 97 wins and a 3.68 ERA over 1580.1 innings.
Hendricks was even better in October, pitching to the tune of a 3.12 ERA and most importantly in November, toeing the rubber for Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. He did it his own way and he did it for the Chicago Cubs.
