ATLANTA (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with Liam Hendriks, giving the veteran reliever another chance to make his way back to the majors.
Hendriks will report to the team's facility in Arizona. Once he is ramped up, he likely will join Triple-A Iowa.
“It's essentially just depth right now and taking a shot at somebody who's had a lot of success and see what happens,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said before Wednesday night's game at Atlanta. “But he's going to have a ways to build up.”
The 37-year-old Hendriks was released from his minor league deal with Minnesota on March 20. The right-hander allowed three runs, nine hits and five walks over seven innings in seven appearances with the Twins during spring training.
The NL Central-leading Cubs have been hit hard by injuries, including to their bullpen. Relievers Caleb Thielbar (left hamstring strain), Hunter Harvey (triceps inflammation) and Riley Martin (elbow inflammation) are on the injured list.
Hendriks has 116 saves in a 14-year career, of which 114 were from 2019-22 during two seasons with the Oakland Athletics and two with the Chicago White Sox. He set a career high with 38 saves for the White Sox in 2021.
Hendriks was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after the 2022 season. In 2023, he was sidelined after just five appearances by right elbow inflammation and eventually had Tommy John surgery.
Hendriks had a 6.59 ERA in 14 games with Boston in 2025. His season was shortened by right hip inflammation.
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FILE - Boston Red Sox's Liam Hendriks pitches during a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, May 27, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash, File)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi threw a bullpen session Wednesday and said he felt good two days after being scratched from his scheduled start because of left side tightness.
Eovaldi first felt what he described as minor tightness while playing catch Sunday. He still felt it when he woke up the next day, and met with team trainers before he was supposed to pitch in the opener of a series against Arizona.
“We just did some of the testing that they have for it. I felt it on a few things and we just didn’t feel the need to push it,” Eovaldi said Wednesday. "I’ve experienced something like that before, and just try to play it smart."
The Rangers did have right fielder Brandon Nimmo in the lineup for the series finale against the Diamondbacks, a night after he exited a 7-4 win because of a sprained his left ankle.
“Hopefully, another bullet dodged with two big-time players for us,” manager Skip Schumaker said.
Eovaldi (4-4, 4.15 ERA) said he was assuming that he would take his next normal turn in the rotation Sunday. He said he needed only a couple of days when experiencing similar stiffness in the past during spring training.
Schumaker said that was good to hear, but planned to have conversations with the two-time All-Star and the medical staff before determining when he would make his next start. The Rangers have a day of Thursday before opening a three-series in Houston.
Eovaldi threw about 25 pitches in his bullpen session, and Schumaker they were at a high intensity and “came out good. ... Let’s see how he recovers.”
The 36-year-old pitcher is coming off consecutive wins against New York in his last two starts, limiting the Yankees to one run and striking out 15 over 15 innings in those games. He allowed one run over eight innings at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday and threw seven scoreless innings against them in his last home start on April 29.
Eovaldi was 11-3 with a career-best 1.73 ERA last season when limited to 22 starts because of elbow inflammation and a rotator cuff strain. He didn't pitch after Aug. 22.
Nimmo came up hobbling in the sixth inning Tuesday and exited the game a few pitches after hitting the edge of first baseman Ildemaro Vargas’ foot as he reached on an infield single. X-rays during the game were negative, and he went through drills Wednesday before Schumaker posted the lineup.
"After the game, coming off the field, I didn’t think there was any way he was going to play today," Schumaker said. “He ran through outfield drills, base running drills and told me that he was gonna play. I didn’t tell him he was gonna play.”
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Texas Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
