White Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks is nearing a return to the big leagues following his completion of treatment for stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma in December.
The 34-year-old closer is completing his rehab assignment in Triple-A Charlotte this weekend before returning to the White Sox next week. He is cancer-free now and is ready to turn his full focus back to baseball.
“As of now I have a clean bill of health,” Hendriks told reporters on Wednesday. “I’m currently in remission.”
Hendriks revealed that he may have been pitching last year with lymphoma after finding lumps in his neck and hips last June.
“There’s a damn well chance I pitched all of last year with lymphoma in my system,” he added. “I’d like to think that was the reason I struggled to recover at the end of the year. I was damn well limping to the finish line.”
Hendriks also detailed the grueling physical toll that treatments took on him, both physically and mentally.
“As soon as I found out the regular treatment timelines, I thought ‘OK, how can I beat it?’ It was those days on the couch, not being able to move much [after treatment]. Those were the days you needed to dig deep and find that positive mental attitude.”
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol spoke about Hendriks’s return to the team and the on-field impact it will have.
“To have Liam is always the perfect time,” he said. “To have a game where you have to cover nine innings and now you have to cover eight. It’s not only going to help us win a baseball game, it’s going to help the guys who are pitching a lot.”
Hendriks finished last season with a 2.81 ERA and 37 saves, one off his career-high.
