Hendriks back where it all began in battle for Twins' bullpen spot

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Liam Hendriks won Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2023, but even so, he still feels he’s never come all the way back to the form he displayed as a three-time All-Star. He’s hopeful that he gets there with the Twins.

The mountain to climb, thankfully, is no comparison to the one he scaled in that 2023 return. Hendriks missed most of the ’23 season as he was treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And then shortly after he returned, he suffered a right elbow injury that required reconstructive surgery. Hendriks missed all of ‘24 before pitching 13 2/3 innings for the Red Sox in ’25.

And yet once again he is in a recovery mode. Hendriks, who turned 37 on Tuesday, underwent procedures for an ulnar nerve transposition and radial nerve decompression in his right elbow in September. He had lost feeling in some of the fingers of his right hand, and the recovery was not instant.

“Anyone who has had anything to do with nerves know that it’s not a fun thing to be dealing with,” Hendriks said.

But Hendriks is throwing again, and looking for a place in a wide-open Twins bullpen after signing Thursday as a Minor League free agent with a non-roster invitation to Spring Training. If he can regain even most of his pre-2023 form -- a form that saw him twice finish in the top-10 in AL Cy Young voting -- he’ll not only be a member of the Twins, he’ll likely be pitching very late in games.

And that’s part of how the 14-year veteran chose Minnesota from among his options. There’s no set hierarchy in the Twins’ bullpen, especially on the right side, so there could be an opportunity to close, or at least pitch very high-leverage innings. It also helps that Hendriks began his career with the Twins and has a home in the Fort Myers area.

“It’s a pretty open bullpen so there’s that,” he said. “There’s the comfortability of a lot of the people I know, whether it be guys that were with the Twins when I was here, kind of like -- mainly staff now. … And look, there’s something kind of cyclical about it, starting my career here, coming back now and hoping to restart my career after three kind of lost years kind of thing. It’s good and plus I was finally able to get No. 31 with the Twins, which has eluded me for many years as the 31st Australian to play in the big leagues.”

Ryan Kreidler, by the way, ceded his No. 31 to Hendriks. That’s not surprising, since Hendriks is not only an established veteran, but one of the most highly regarded people in the game.

“Veteran guy that people speak so highly of in the game in terms of who he is as a human being,” manager Derek Shelton said. “Obviously he’s had some challenges in his life over the last couple years. Just talking about the person, excited to add him into that group.”

It’s a strange spot for Hendriks, who has to manage two separate challenges this spring. He’s trying to prove himself on the field and earn a spot after totaling 18 2/3 Major League innings over the past three seasons. And he’s also still building back up after the injuries, which requires some degree of patience and caution.

As a result of that combination, he has elected to remove himself from Team Australia in the World Baseball Classic, at least during the pool play portion of the event. He hopes he could be available if Australia advances to knockout play in Miami later in March. For now, all of his focus will be in Fort Myers.

“It's going to be interesting,” he said. “I've never really had to do it. It's going to be a new spot for me. I did it a little bit in '15 trying to win that spot with the Jays as the last person added to the roster. For me, I don't mind not peaking until towards later in camp because I know I can still do it. It's a matter of showing. I much would prefer (pacing myself) than going too hard too early and all of a sudden, you're starting to get a little sore toward the end and then it's 'OK, what do I do now?'”