Veteran Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks is a bit more than a month behind the remainder of the pitchers in camp, and is hoping to make minor league rehab begins someday in Could, in response to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.
Hendricks stepped on a mound for the primary time since a July 5 damage ended his season on Friday, tossing round ten pitches in a bullpen session. That was barely forward of schedule, as Hendricks hadn’t initially been slated to return to a mound till March 1 as he recovers from a capsular tear in his shoulder. That he’s one week forward of his schedule is promising, however he’s nonetheless considerably behind the remainder of the pitchers in camp, and meaning the Cubs look set to be with out Hendricks for various weeks to start the season.
A return to rehab stints in Could would put seemingly put Hendricks able to rejoin Chicago’s rotation someday later in that month or in early June. The Cubs look moderately nicely positioned to soak up the absence of Hendricks early within the season, with Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon, Justin Steele and Drew Smyly holding down 4 of the spots. It ought to imply Adrian Sampson will get the chance to construct off his spectacular 19-start run in 2022 and spherical out the Cubs’ opening day rotation. Sampson pitched to a 3.11 ERA final season, and has a 3.03 ERA over 139 2/3 innings for the Cubs between 2021-22. His earlier 153 innings for Seattle and Texas between 2016-19 had resulted in a 5.71 ERA.
Hendricks will certainly land on the injured checklist to begin the season, however his progress over the subsequent month ought to decide whether or not that’s a visit to the 60-day IL or not. Groups can put gamers on the 60-day IL once more now, which might unlock a spot on the 40-man roster, however the 60-day clock would solely start from March 30 (opening day), so a staff would need to make sure a participant goes to be unavailable till at the least the top of Could earlier than making that transfer.
Hendricks is getting into the ultimate assured 12 months of his contract and is owed $14MM in 2023. There’s additionally a vesting $16MM possibility for 2024 that comes with a $1.5MM buyout. Hendricks, 33, has seen a little bit of decline in recent times, working to a 4.78 ERA over 48 begins over the previous two seasons. That got here on the heels of various high quality campaigns for the Cubs, as Hendricks owned a 3.12 ERA over 174 earlier begins between 2014-20.
