NEWSLETTER
UPDATE: Yeah, Kyle Hendricks’ season is over. He has confirmed it, together with a new diagnosis.
The latest MRI finally showed a structural issue:
MRIs are not always crystal clear, which is why you’ll sometimes see a guy in Hendricks’ situation, trying to ramp back up after a “clean” MRI, not being able to do so without discomfort, try again, etc., and then only later is it shown on an MRI that there actually is something wrong.
As for the specific injury, I had it in my head that a shoulder capsule tear is one of the really bad ones, but nothing in the comments from Hendricks or the reporting seems to suggest this is all that serious. Maybe there are much milder tears that you don’t worry about as much since they don’t require surgery? I’ll admit it, I’m flying a bit blind here. I imagine we’ll hear more throughout the offseason. Seems like a good sign – relative to this type of injury – that there’s still hope he can throw before the offseason begins (which, in turn, would seem to set up a pretty normal offseason? that’s what Hendricks said is the plan, anyway).
*Original post follows.*
Kyle Hendricks has been shut down since early July with a shoulder strain that just won’t clear up. And although there was some moderately positive news just six days ago (he was apparently on his way to Arizona to begin his rehab), it seems any chance of an aggressive bounce back up to the big leagues is now out the window.
Again, this was already a possibility (the most likely outcome, even) after the news last week, but it’s now confirmed: Kyle Hendricks is not planning to return to the Cubs this season and will instead focus on getting right for 2023.
Speaking of which, here’s Brett’s thoughts on what comes next for Kyle Hendricks our last discussion:
Hendricks, 32, has posted a 4.80 ERA (4.83 FIP) over 84.1 innings (16 starts) this season.
It’s been easy to discard Hendricks before his time because of the struggles in 2021 and the injuries this year, but he still absolutely has the ability to contribute to the team in 2023, his final contracted year. No, the Cubs couldn’t count on it, and they certainly couldn’t pencil him into the front half of the rotation. But a veteran at the back? A slightly-below-average innings eater? Every team needs that, even competitive teams. And, if he’s fully healthy and makes some adjustments? It’s not like you can completely rule out the possibility of a mid-rotation bounce-back.
As for the rest of this season, the Cubs rotation is currently four-strong with Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele, Drew Smyly, and Adrian Sampson. Keegan Thompson is also in the picture, of course, but he’s well beyond his previous single-season inning max and is currently on the IL. It seems likely the Cubs will be VERY cautious with him the rest of the way, potentially not starting him at all anymore (until next season). Likewise, Wade Miley had a bad injury update earlier today and doesn’t seem like an option anytime soon, so that’s another name off the list.
Luke Farrell is likely going to be one of the fill-in starters for this week, but the Cubs have 11 games in the next 10 days, including a double-header, before their next day off. So someone else will have to be involved. That could be righty Javier Assad, or it could be someone like Caleb Kilian or Hayden Wesneski, the prospect the Cubs got from the Yankees for Scott Effross at the deadline. We’ll see.
