Chicago White Sox Will Search For A Closer While Liam Hendriks Recovers From Illness

The baseball world and the Chicago White Sox were totally shocked when right-handed closer Liam Hendriks announced he is undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

According to the American Cancer Society, Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system.

Hendriks announced his condition via Instagram on Sunday, January 8, 2023. Hendriks has reportedly begun his treatment program. He indicated he is confident of making a full recovery.

Hendriks, who turns 34 in February, has completed parts of 12 big league seasons, the past two being with the White Sox. He has also pitched for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays (twice), Kansas City Royals, and the Oakland Athletics.

Minnesota signed Hendriks in 2007 as an international free agent out of Sacred Heart College in Perth, Australia.

In January 2021, the White Sox signed Hendriks as a free agent.

Hendriks has appeared in three All Star Games, with the Oakland Athletics in 2019, and with the White Sox the past two seasons.

Last season, Hendriks appeared in 58 games. He threw 57.2 innings, saving 37 games, one less than his career best in 2021.

Given the absence of Hendriks during his treatment and recovery, the White Sox will likely have competition for the role during spring training.

Few, if any closer candidates still appear on the free agent market. New White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, and the entire White Sox front office may have to sort through several internal candidates to fill the very capable, All Star shoes of Liam Hendriks.

Two internal candidate this scout feels should be given consideration include Kendall Graveman and Reynaldo Lopez. Clearly, there may be others. However, for this scout, Graveman and Lopez rise to the top. At least initially.

Kendall Graveman: RHP-Age 32

Selected out of Mississippi State University in the 8th round of the 2013 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, Kendall Graveman pitched for Toronto for only one season.

Making his big league debut with the Blue Jays in 2014, Graveman was traded to the Oakland Athletics in 2014.

Graveman will enter his 9th major league season. He has pitched mostly in relief since 2020 with the Seattle Mariners.

Graveman pitched parts of four seasons with Oakland, and then signed with the Seattle Mariners as a free agent in 2019. He pitched parts of two seasons with the Mariners, and then was traded by Seattle to the Houston Astros in July 2021. He finished that season with the Astros, and signed with the White Sox as a free agent in November 2021. He pitched for the White Sox in 2022.

Graveman has saved 16 big league games in his career. Last year, Graveman appeared in 65 games with the White Sox. He pitched 65 innings, saving six games.

According to Brooksbaseball, Graveman throws his four-seam fastball 8.33% of the time, his two-seam, sinking fastball 25%, his slider 41.67%, and his changeup 25% of the time.

Both Graveman’s fastballs sit between 96-97 miles per hour. His changeup is listed at 89 miles per hour, making the velocity difference substantial enough to alter the balance and eye level of the hitter.

Last year, Graveman walked an average of 3.6 hitters per nine innings, which could be an issue in the high leverage closer position. He struck out an average of 9.1 hitters per nine innings, which is what the White Sox may need.

Reynaldo Lopez-RHP-Age 29

Younger than Graveman, Reynaldo Lopez signed with the Washington Nationals in 2012 as an international free agent.

The Nationals traded Lopez, along with pitchers Dane Dunning and Lucas Giolito for outfielder Adam Eaton in a very consequential December 2016 deal.

Lopez has now pitched parts of seven big league seasons, six with the White Sox.

A starter for most of his career, Lopez began getting relief appearances for Chicago in 2021. Last year, in his 61 games pitched, only one was as a starter.

Lopez had an outstanding 2022 season. He worked 65.1 innings, finishing with a sparkling 2.76 ERA. He walked an average of 1.9 hitters per nine innings, while striking out 8.7 per nine.

With good control and command, Lopez may be the ideal candidate to take the ball for manager Pedro Grifol to close the game.

According to Brooksbaseball, Lopez throws a fastball at 95.7 miles per hour, and a slider. He uses his fastball 77.78% of the time, and his slider 22.22% of the time

Given his improving command and control, Lopez may be a good candidate to at least begin the season getting opportunities to close games.

Other Candidates:

Ultimately, manager Grifol may choose to use several pitchers to close games. He has good options with right-hander Joe Kelly, 34, and lefty Aaron Bummer, 29. However, both can be inconsistent with command. Walking hitters late in the game is the last thing the manager wants.

Another possibility is a trade for a closer.

In fact, the Philadelphia Phillies just traded for closer Gregory Soto from the Detroit Tigers. The Phillies have four pitchers with experience closing games. They include Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarado, Craig Kimbrel, and Soto.

While this writer thinks it is highly unlikely the Phillies will part with one of their four, finding a closer in the trade market is always a possibility. But the price will be steep.

Conclusions:

Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a form of cancer.

Hendriks has begun his treatment program.

Searching for a closer will be a major task for the White Sox this spring.

For this scout, the best possible options may be internal. Possibly Kendall Graveman, who has closing experience, or Reynaldo Lopez can fill-in for Hendriks.

This old scout wishes Liam Hendriks a complete and speedy recovery. It will be so good to see him back on a big league mound when he recovers. The sooner, the better.