The Boston Red Sox have been without their $10 million bullpen arm since late May, with a lingering hip injury having kept him sidelined. In the meantime, the team has shuffled its pitching deck, most recently pulling in Steven Matz from the Cardinals to help steady the ship. But when asked about a possible return, manager Alex Cora didn’t sugarcoat it, instead casting doubt on the veteran’s 2025 season, admitting he’s unsure whether reliever Liam Hendriks will “make an impact” at all before the year is out.

As Cora sees it, Hendriks has been on the sidelines for more than two months. After being sidelined in May, he was soon placed on a 60-day injured list in early July by the Red Sox. So perhaps Cora believed that it was over for Liam Hendriks, at least for this season. Ever since being placed on the IL, it has been a tough road for the 36-year-old.

In contrast to Cora’s remark on him this weekend, Hendriks got a chance to clear the air on Monday.  “It’s way too early to say I won’t pitch this year. If everything goes well, I will pitch this year as long as we keep moving in that direction. I spoke to A.C. about it, and it was just a slip of the tongue. He apologized, and we’re moving on.”  He is surprised at where exactly Cora got that notion.

Via MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, he stated, “I saw a different guy and he was like, ‘You’ve got the body of a gorilla but you’ve got the hips of a cheerleader.’ I didn’t like that euphemism as much. I like, ‘Your body is a brick-s***-house and your door is made out of a sheet,’”

Initially, he was diagnosed with a sports hernia. And consequently, Hendriks was prescribed a rehab course, but when he tried to throw some time later, the issue worsened. Afterwards, he was prompted to take a second opinion.

Then, it came to light that Hendriks instead has been dealing with a strained abdominal sidewall. And guess what? It worsened because of the rehab course he was taking. But still, as Hendriks sees it, the Red Sox can’t count him out just yet. He had pitched across 14 games before his injury; in those, he allowed 10 earned runs on 12 hits with 7 walks in only 13 2/3 innings.

Could Hendriks “make an impact” in the Red Sox bullpen if he returns?

If you’ve been following Hendrik’s journey for a while now, you would know that he underwent a major treatment for stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, just months after he made an All-Star appearance in 2022 for the Chicago White Sox. He did make a comeback in 2023 and pitched across five games before suffering an elbow injury that eventually made him undergo Tommy John surgery.

Given the injury and illness history, the Red Sox still signed the three-time All-Star for a 2-year, $10 million contract. He was supposed to help the bullpen in the 2024 season, but never saw the field. Again, he was placed on the injured list. That time, it was right elbow inflammation that kept him out even before the opening day in March.

Phew, a lot has gone downhill for the veteran. He hoped for better days and finally made a comeback to the mound earlier this year. However, he’s held a concerning 6.59 ERA and a 0-2 record this 2025 season. So, finding a spot this time — and making an impact — seems difficult as of now.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox are riding high this season as they are stacking up wins. They are also ahead in the AL rankings, with their archrivals, the New York Yankees, trailing behind them. Right now, the Red Sox’ bullpen is also doing well, but at the same time, Hendriks will push hard to return soon and find his footing.