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This season has been a rough go for the White Sox, but here’s something heart-warming. All-Star closer Liam Hendriks, who has been undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma since January, is set to return to the active roster.
The White Sox announced it via this excellent video:
The 34-year-old Hendriks is a three-time All-Star who finished ninth in Cy Young voting in 2020 and then eighth in 2021. He won the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year award in both of those seasons. Last year, Hendriks closed 37 of his 41 save chances and pitched to a 2.81 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 85 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings.
In Hendriks’ minor-league rehab stint, he appeared in six games and had a 10.80 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. Perhaps he’ll remain a bit rusty here in his first few outings for the big-league White Sox, too.
For now, any on-field performance takes a backseat to the human interest story that is Hendriks’ battling back from cancer to return to the majors. It’ll be a pretty fun scene the first time he comes in from the bullpen to take the mound and we know he’ll be his usual fiery self out there.