The Chicago White Sox have had a tough season. They don’t win a lot of games and the team is very dysfunctional in almost every way.
One thing that stood out from this season, however, is the fact that Liam Hendriks made a comeback from cancer. It was one of the best stories in all of sports as he battled his way back from a very tough situation.
Unfortunately, a baseball injury is now going to keep him out for a very long time. Before their Wednesday night game against the Texas Rangers, they made this very sad announcement.
Liam Hendriks underwent surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. It is going to be a 12-14 month recovery for him so it is going to be a long time before we see him on a Major League Baseball diamond again.
Recovery time for Hendriks is expected to take approx. 12-14 months. He was placed on the 15-day IL on June 11 (retroactive to June 10) with right elbow inflammation after going 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA (3 ER/5.0 IP), three strikeouts and one save over five appearances this season.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 2, 2023
The White Sox are going to miss Liam Hendriks and what he brings.
Liam has been dealing with an issue in his elbow for a long time and has just dealt with it. It is actually remarkable that he went out and pitched so well through it for a long time. Now, he is getting it corrected which is good but the fact that he will be out for a while is less than fun.
In five appearances with the White Sox this season, he had a 2-0 record and a 5.40 ERA. He allowed three runs in five innings pitched with three strikeouts and a save.
Obviously, he was working back from cancer which made things tough and now he has to deal with this. If we learned anything about him over the last half a year or so though, it is that he is super tough and he can get through this.
It would be nice to see him stick around with the White Sox after this. However, it is understandable if tough business decisions are made over the coming year.
At the end of the day, White Sox fans are Liam Hendriks fans now too. No matter what, folks should be rooting him on. He gave his all to this team and now he deserves love and support. It was good to hear that the surgery was successful. When he returns, the league will be a better place.