Liam Hendriks suffers tough injury blow

Liam Hendriks’s inspirational 2023 season has ended early because of injury.

The Chicago White Sox revealed this week that the righty reliever Hendriks has undergone Tommy John surgery due to a torn UCL in his right elbow. Hendriks’s recovery is expected to take 12-to-14 months, ending his 2023 season and likely costing him all of the 2024 campaign as well.

A three-time All-Star, Hendricks made an inspiring return to the baseball field this season after a January diagnosis with cancer (which he officially announced in April that he had beaten). Hendriks was 2-0 with a 5.45 ERA in five appearances for the White Sox this year but went on the injured list in June with right elbow inflammation.

The Tommy John news is a rough blow for the 34-year-old Hendriks. He is making $14 million this season with Chicago holding a $15 million club option on Hendriks for the 2024 campaign. It remains to be seen if Hendriks has thrown his final pitch in a White Sox uniform.