White Sox closer Hendriks sidelined by elbow inflammation

If there is one player in Major League Baseball who knows how to confront and defeat adversity, it's Liam Hendriks.

Diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in early December, the all-star closer began chemotherapy treatments a month later and made a miraculous return to the White Sox on May 29 after being declared cancer free.

"When we initially got the initial prognosis, I don't think anyone would have been shocked if the response to a Stage 4 lymphoma diagnosis was we weren't going to see the guy pitch this year," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "Or, if we initially announced he's going to be gone until at least the all-star break, I don't think anyone would have batted an eye with that timeline."

Hendriks had other ideas, and he was beginning to round back into his old form. Pitching against the Marlins Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, the 34-year-old righty got the win after throwing a perfect ninth inning. Over his last four appearances, Hendriks allowed only 1 run on 1 hit over 4 innings while striking out 3 and walking none.

In Saturday's 5-1 loss to Miami, Joe Kelly got the call to pitch the ninth inning with the White Sox clinging to a 1-0 lead.

A fielding error by shortstop Tim Anderson ignited the Marlins' late rally, and you wonder if the outcome would have been different if Hendriks came in to try to close out the game.

Manager Pedro Grifol said he asked Hendriks how he felt after his appearance Friday night.

"He said, 'We'll see tomorrow,'" Grifol said. "If you know Liam, he never says that. He's always available and he always wants to pitch. Once he said that, it was a little bit of a red flag."

Before Sunday's game against Miami - which wound up being another comeback win for the Marlins - the Sox placed Hendriks on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. Left-hander Tanner Banks was recalled from Class AAA Charlotte to take his roster spot.

Given all Hendriks has been through and all he's overcome, the announcement is potentially devastating.

"On the first fundamental level, I'm disappointed for him just because of how much he has fought through and what he's personally been through to get himself back to this level," Hahn said. "So I feel for him, the person, first. Secondly, it's disappointing to lose a potential weapon for the back end of our bullpen for some sort of period of time. That said, we feel a lot of confidence in the other options we have down there."

The worst case scenario for Hendriks and the White Sox is Tommy John surgery.

Hendriks was being checked out by doctors Sunday, so optimism reigns for now. Last season, Hendriks dealt with a similar issue in his forearm and only missed three weeks.

"At this point, we do not know if that's going to be a similar path for this year," Hahn said. "He's undergoing additional examinations. I suspect we won't have a specific update until probably Tuesday, in all candor. It's too early for me to tell you we are going to follow the same treatment and return to play as what we dealt with in (20)22."

Until test results are revealed, the Sox can only hope for the best.

"Last year, the strain involved the ligament as well," Hahn said. "It's just a matter of how does it present, how do you treat it and how do you get him back? The symptoms are very similar to what we had last year but not ready to say it's a flexor strain until we can read an MRI."

Hendriks missed spring training and pitched only 5 innings with Charlotte on a rehab assignment before joining the White Sox.

He threw some live batting practice before being activated, but was Hendriks built up enough before going back to the bullpen?

"Has everything he's been through, medically and physically, over the past six months let's say, potentially led us here? Maybe," Hahn said "But in terms of once he was cleared and how he was ramped up and how he returned to play, I don't think that's a factor, based upon the fact that the number of medical professionals involved ranging from our orthopedic people to his oncologist, to rehabilitation specialists, to the number of check-ins with where he was at physically along the way, this is perhaps the most thoroughly vetted return to play of any player in certainly my recent memory."