White Sox closer Liam Hendriks was sidelined with elbow inflammation after missing the start of the season while recovering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Hendriks was placed on the 15-day disabled list before Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Miami Marlins. Lefty Tanner Banks was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.
«It’s unfortunate, especially how he got over what happened,» coach Pedro Grifol said. «It impacts us emotionally as a club. It affects our roster, but again, we have to keep moving forward and hopefully he can bounce back from this. That’s all we can do at the moment.»
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Liam Hendriks #31 of the Chicago White Sox throws a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the ninth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 9, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
General manager Rick Hahn said Hendriks’ elbow soreness currently presents in the same way as a problem the pitcher had last season, when he was placed on the disabled list June 14 with a flexor strain. of the right forearm and then reinstated on July 4.
«Right now, we don’t know if that will be a similar path for this year,» Hahn said. «He’s undergoing additional tests right now. He’s not at the ballpark, seeing our doctors. I suspect we won’t have a specific update until probably Tuesday quite frankly.»
The IL season for Hendriks comes with the White Sox (29-38) still trying to come out of a brutal 7-21 start to the season. They had won six of eight before blowing a 5-1 lead in the weekend’s deciding game against the Marlins.
When Hendriks missed the start of the season, the White Sox were also without Garrett Crochet as the lefty finished his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Crochet returned last month, and Kendall Graveman and Keynan Middleton had been shooting well before they stumbled in the series finale against Miami.
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Liam Hendriks #31 of the Chicago White Sox looks on from the sidelines before the first game of a double header against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 8, 2023 in the borough of New York City, the Bronx. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Grifol had also been facilitating Hendriks’ return to the closer’s role.
«Obviously losing Liam can hurt any bullpen,» Grifol said before Sunday’s loss. «But we’re better prepared than if it happened out of the blue. I’m confident in our guys that we’ve got out there. They’ve been pitching great baseball. They’ve been pitching in different roles.»
Hendriks made his major league return from cancer when he pitched an inning against the Los Angeles Angels on May 29. The 34-year-old right-hander is 2-0 with one save and a 5.40 ERA in five appearances this year.
Hendriks has 116 saves and a 3.82 ERA in 13 seasons with Minnesota, Toronto, Kansas City, Oakland and Chicago. He signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the White Sox in January 2021.
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Liam Hendriks #31 of the Chicago White Sox in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 6, 2023 in Bronx, New York. The White Sox defeated the Yankees 3-2. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
He led the American League with a career-high 38 saves in his first year with Chicago. He was third in the majors with 37 saves and made his third All-Star team in 2022, but he noticed some lumps on his neck last summer.
He was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and underwent immunotherapy and chemotherapy. He announced in April that she was in remission.
«I’m disappointed in him, just how much, like you said, he’s struggled and what he’s been through personally to get back to this level,» Hahn said. «So, I feel for him person first. Second, yeah, it’s disappointing to lose a potential weapon to the back of our bullpen for some kind of period of time. That being said, we’re very confident in the other options.» we have down there.»