Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks made his first appearance in a game in nearly 10 months on Thursday, when he began his rehab assignment with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A.
Hendricks made 16 starts in 2022, the last coming on July 5, against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs shut down the veteran right-handed pitcher shortly after as Hendricks dealt with a shoulder injury that had been bothering him for a while. The Cubs signed two starting pitchers in the offseason, adding Jameson Taillon and bringing back Drew Smyly, while also knowing they would give rookie Hayden Wesneski a shot in the rotation. With the influx of starting pitchers, there were some fans who thought we had seen the last Hendricks pitching for the Cubs.
However, Hendricks has slowly but surely made it back to the mound. He stayed in Arizona following spring training and pitched in a simulated game before pitching in a game for the first time in almost 10 months on Thursday with the Iowa Cubs.
As you’ll notice on the score bug, Hendricks did allow two runs in the first inning against Louisville, but those came after a bloop hit over the shortstop and a jam-shot down the left-field line.
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Hendricks looked like he was getting in a groove, eventually striking out three batters in a row.
However, things did go bad quickly after Hendricks recorded the second out in the second inning. The plan was to get Hendricks through three innings at about 60 pitches, but the righty was pulled after throwing 54 pitches in 1.2 innings.
With two outs in the second inning, Hendricks gave up a single, walk and a double. His final line was 6 H, 6 ER, 3 K, 1 BB. Yeah, not pretty, but you can’t ignore the fact that this was his first actual game action since last July.
Just like you shouldn’t really freak out over a veteran pitcher looking terrible in spring training, there is no chance I can rule out Hendricks right now after his first rehab start. The biggest thing right now, is that he’s feeling healthy and his shoulder issue is gone.
The other good thing about the Cubs current situation is that they don’t have to force Hendricks back either and they’re not really relying on him anyway.
I’ll still say that my expectations for Hendricks are low, but it wouldn’t be a big surprise if Hendricks can be an effective starting pitcher again. But how about he actually builds up some stamina and goes deeper in games before we completely rule out Kyle Hendricks.
That rehab start on Thursday was pretty much his first spring training start. Of course, Hendricks could trend in the wrong direction, like Adrian Sampson, or he can be completely fine like Drew Smyly. We shall see, but as someone who still is a fan of the way Hendricks goes about his business, I hope he does still have one good run left with the Cubs.
Right now the expectation is that Hendricks will return to the Cubs in mid to late May as long as he remains healthy.
