Hendricks Needs Strong Return To Solidify Future With Cubs

Kyle Hendricks returns to the mound for the Cubs on Thursday night. The 33-year-old changeup wizard will serve both as a reminder of the Cubs’ good old days and a demonstration of why long-term contracts are always risky with starting pitchers.

Hendricks had never missed a start with a shoulder or elbow issue before suffering a capsular tear in his shoulder at Milwaukee last July. Reliability was among the reasons the Cubs gave him a four-year, $55.5 million contract extension in the spring of 2019 but they wound up paying him about $12 million while he was rehabilitating from the injury.

That’s always the risk with pitchers, whether his fastball is high-90s or, like Hendricks, high-80s. Hendricks made only one visit to the Injured List in his first eight seasons with the Cubs, and that was for an inflamed tendon in his middle finger in 2017.

Perhaps because he lacked the fastball that would have landed him a scholarship with Stanford, where he wanted to pitch, Hendricks worked at learning to manipulate pitches while playing for Dartmouth. He became a master at getting late movement on ankle-high pitches, which allowed him to serve as a complement to Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and John Lackey when the Cubs built toward their World Series victory in 2016.

Hendricks won the Game 6 clincher over Los Angeles that sent the Cubs to the World Series. He was the starter in Game 7 at Cleveland, and had allowed only one unearned run when Joe Maddon pulled him after 63 pitches over 4 2/3 innings.

The Cubs have gone 128-94 in Hendricks’ starts. He had compiled a 3.12 career ERA through 2020 but suffered serious regression before the capsular tear, with a 4.78 ERA in his last 48 starts.

This is the last guaranteed season in Hendricks’ deal, which means he will be pitching for his 2024 contract when he returns. The Cubs hold a $16-million option for ’24 with a $1.5 million buyout. They have three Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon and Drew Smyly under contract for next season, and 27-year-old lefty Justin Steele has been their best starter this season.

While the Cubs have questions at the back of the rotation — they just sent rookie Hayden Wesneski to Triple-A — they surprisingly rank fourth in the National League with a 3.88 ERA from their starters.

Hendricks, then pitching in Double-A, was acquired from Texas in a deadline deal in 2012. The Cubs could listen to offers for him if he returns to form in his starts leading into the trade deadline but it’s possible he’ll strengthen the rotation enough to make them contenders.

The studious Hendricks — nicknamed the Professor early in his Cub years — used his time wisely off the mound, working to see why he had lost effectiveness in 2021 and ’22. He made slight adjustments in his delivery, which he said he had become too long. Hendricks started his throwing program in December after not throwing a ball for almost five months, which he said was “the first time in my life I’ve gone that long without throwing.”

Expect him to get a huge ovation when he strides to the Wrigley Field mound to face the Mets. Everything after that will be uncharted territory with a wide range of outcomes.