ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Andrew Vaughn sent Liam Hendriks a text as soon as he heard the Chicago White Sox closer was cancer-free.
“(I) said, ‘When does the rehab assignment start?’ ” the Sox first baseman said Friday before the Sox opened a three-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field. “He replied, ‘As soon as I get my first live BP and it’s on.’ That’s pretty cool.”
Hendriks’ announcement Thursday on Instagram brought smiles throughout the Sox clubhouse.
“Unbelievable,” pitching coach Ethan Katz said. “A really exciting time just to hear that he’s in a really good spot health-wise and, obviously, from a team perspective, we’re able to know that he’s going to be back. So it’s very exciting.”
Hendriks began treatment in January for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“Baseball really wasn’t on my mind, but you always hope that he’s going to be OK and can be back because that’s what he loves to do,” Katz said. “But when you get the news, the first thing you think of is his life. Is he going to get through this? Is he going to have a normal life?
“He’s a great presence in our clubhouse, a great presence in our bullpen. It’s hard to replace Liam Hendriks as a person and a player, so having him around is a huge asset.”
Vaughn, who sat near Hendriks in the home clubhouse at Guaranteed Rate Field the last two seasons, joked, “Besides the Lego collection and the whole mess he has in the corner, Liam is a great guy.
“I see him all offseason. We live 10 minutes from each other in Scottsdale (Ariz.). It’s devastating at first but now it’s almost like a thing of the past. He’s in remission, so it’s pretty special for him.
“He’s a great person through and through. It’s so funny knowing him on and off the field because he’s two completely different people. When he comes in the ninth inning, it’s all business. He’s someone you don’t want to face. Off the field, he’s as nice as can be.”
As for the on-field impact, Hendriks has 75 saves in his first two seasons with the Sox.
“You’re adding your closer, two-time relief pitcher of the year,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “It would mean anything to any ballclub. Certainly would lengthen our bullpen out and it’s not just him. (Joe) Kelly (on the IL with a right groin strain) threw a live BP (Friday) that was phenomenal, probably the best he’s felt and the best I’ve seen him throw. He’s had some good outings and it was something special to see.
“As we get all these guys back and healthy, it definitely lifts this ballclub up.”
Grifol and Katz said a plan is in place for Hendriks’ next baseball steps.
“It’s really exciting,” Katz said. “In spring training when he wanted to throw and do things, I really was more focused on, like, are you OK to do this? Is this something that’s not going to (lead to) any setbacks for yourself? That’s where my mind was. But now that he actually did all those things, it was actually a blessing in disguise because he did so much that now it speeds up everything else. He’s not starting from ground zero.
“Everything is laid out. Now he just has to hit all those milestones and get him back and get his presence around here and do a couple of rehab assignments and we’ll get him back as soon as he finishes that program.”
Grifol compared the current phase to “the start of his spring training.”
“The only thing I can tell you is that through this process he’s kept throwing,” Grifol said. “I’ve actually seen four or five of those sessions in spring training and his velocity maybe wasn’t exactly where he wanted it, but his effort, his arm, the way it worked, just his competitiveness, all that was there. And so he’s not starting from scratch. He’s been working.”
Baseball wasn’t on Grifol’s mind with Thursday’s news.
“What lifts my spirit is the fact that he’s cancer-free,” Grifol said. “Has nothing to do with baseball. That was the most important thing for me, for us, for this organization, for every single fan. This is a hell of a lot bigger than baseball.
“And now the fact that he’s going to start ramping it up, again, it will lift anybody’s spirit. But it has nothing to do with our record, it has everything to do with him and him getting back to doing what he loves and what he does best. We’re all here (with) open arms waiting for him to get here whenever he’s ready.”
