The Red Sox bullpen has underperformed through the first month, and over the past week top setup men Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten have particularly struggled.
The good news is the Red Sox might have a solution already on the roster.
After missing almost two years with Tommy John surgery and then the first three weeks of this season with right elbow inflammation, Liam Hendriks has recently begun looking more like his old self. The 36-year-old right-hander boasts a 3.00 ERA through his first six appearances with no earned runs allowed in the last five, and his last two outings in particular saw the veteran boast much improved stuff.
Originally viewed as a contender for the closer job entering spring training, could Hendriks be ready to take on more high-leverage situations? Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Hendriks will probably need more time, but that with each day he’s pitching more like the guy who was once among the most dominant relievers in baseball.
“The more he goes out there, the better he’s going to be,” Cora said. “We have to take it one day at a time and see how he feels, two out of three days and see how he bounces back, and the next thing is back to back. It’s a lot different from spring training, it’s a lot different from a rehab assignment, we’re trying to win ballgames, as many as possible, but we have to know what we can get from him, and so far it’s been good.”
“We’re going to continue to throw him out there and he’s going to keep getting better,” Cora continued. “That was the goal before we signed him, to be a guy in the back end and he’s done it before. I have no doubt he can do it again.”
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Prior to the litany of health issues that derailed his career — including a battle with cancer along with the subsequent reconstructive elbow surgery — Hendriks had a four-year stretch where he was among the best closers in the sport. Between 2019-22 he was a three-time All-Star, a two-time American League Reliever of the Year and had three seasons with 25 saves or more.
