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Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks disagrees with Alex Cora’s comments about injury
"That kind of shook me a little bit."
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s win over the Houston Astros, Red Sox manager Alex Cora noted that veteran reliever Liam Hendriks’ season was potentially over due to injury.
That was news to the candid righty.
Speaking to reporters Monday at Fenway Park, Hendriks said any talk of his season coming to an early end was incorrect — labeling Cora’s comments as a “slip of the tongue.”
“That was surprising. That kind of shook me a little bit,” Hendriks said, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “I was like, ‘OK, let me read this thing.’ That was frustrating. It was like, ‘Have they not told me anything that’s going on? Am I out of the loop? What’s going on?’ Everyone I’ve spoken to about this has said, ‘No, we’re pushing to get you back this year.’
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“You hear that and you’re like, ‘Are they just lying to my face to appease me?’ Which is not the case. It was just a slip of the tongue, unfortunately. It was definitely not a good thing for me to hear. But we hashed it out and we’re all good.”
Hendriks has not pitched since May 27, with the former All-Star closer hampered by an injury that was initially deemed as right hip inflammation. He was later diagnosed with a sports hernia, but additional testing identified his injury as a strained abdominal side wall.
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Unlike a hernia — which eventually requires a surgical procedure to fully heal the ailment — an abdominal strain can be corrected through specific exercises and a non-surgical recovery plan, offering hope that the reliever can return before the 2025 season wraps.
“It’s way too early to say I won’t pitch this year,” Hendriks said. “If everything goes well, I will definitely pitch this year as long we keep moving in that direction. I spoke to A.C. about it and it was just a slip of the tongue. He apologized and we’re moving on.”
Speaking on Tuesday ahead of Boston’s game against the Royals, Cora admitted that his initial comments might have been premature.
“I got ahead of myself and we cleared it up and I hope he pitches this year,” Cora said, as reported by MassLive’s Christopher Smith.
Hendriks, who was initially expected to serve as a high-leverage reliever in front of Aroldis Chapman this season, has only appeared in 14 games this season with Boston, sporting a 6.59 ERA.
Even with his injury woes, Hendriks’ return would be welcome for a Red Sox team that can use all the help it can get down the stretch as it tries to punch its ticket to the postseason.
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“It’s good, on the trajectory we’re going, that even if you get back in mid-September, it’s not just two weeks,” Hendriks told Cotillo. “There’s going to be a longer time to still continue to play. If you’re pushing to try and get back for the two weeks, it’s pure pride. If I’m pushing to get back for two weeks plus, potentially, playoffs, it’s to help this team win.
“I’m trying to not push this as hard as I can which is very grating and hard for me because of my personality. I need to make sure I do this thing the right way. I’m not sure how much I can afford another lost year.”
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