MIAMI -- Right-hander Kyle Hendricks threw for the first time on Saturday, and the Cubs are moving forward in his return to the club. Despite the positive session, it looks like it won't happen before the All-Star break.
Hendricks went on the 10-day disabled list with right hand tendinitis retroactive to June 5.
"Yesterday was Day 1," Hendricks said. "It was good to finally go out and feel the ball and not have any pain in there. Granted, it was only 60 feet, but then to be able to show up today and not have any residual soreness, it was a really good sign for Day 1."
Still, Hendricks must go through the process to get back to full strength.
"It's going to be a few days of throwing and then I'll have a much better idea," Hendricks said. "So the next four or five days will tell me a lot. Then we can have more of a solid plan."
The hope is for Hendricks to continue to throw pain-free for the next four or five days and then go from there. He will avoid mound work, throwing on a flat surface the next few days to see how the hand responds.
"The arm felt good. I've been doing a lot of shoulder work. It took a few throws to find the arm slot and actually felt pretty normal," Hendricks said of Saturday's session. "I was actually surprised by it."
But a return prior to the All-Star break doesn't appear feasible, though manager Joe Maddon isn't completely shutting down the idea.
"It's probably aggressive to think he'd be back by the All-Star break, but I don't want to rule anything out," Maddon said.
Hendricks said he knows that there are several steps to be taken before his return.
"I haven't thrown in two weeks at least, not even thrown a baseball," Hendricks said. "So it's going to be tough to say. Give me three more days [and] I'll be able to tell, but it's going to be tough to come back before that, just for the amount of throwing that's going to have to be done."
Having been out this long, Hendricks said he anticipates some rehab work before rejoining the club.