12:00pm: The Cubs announced that righty Anderson Espinoza is being recalled from Double-A to take Hendricks’ place on the roster.
11:30am: The Cubs have placed right-hander Kyle Hendricks on the 15-day injured list due to a shoulder strain, manager David Ross announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago). Hendricks exited last night’s game after three innings due to soreness in his right shoulder. The team will announce a corresponding roster move later today. No recovery timetable has been provided at this time.
Hendricks, 32, is in the midst of a second straight season of lackluster results, as his 4.80 ERA through 84 1/3 frames thus far is a near-mirror image of the 4.77 he posted through 181 innings a year ago. The soft-tossing righty’s 18.5% strikeout rate is an improvement upon last year’s 16.7% clip (the second-worst of his career), but he’s also seen his walk rate rise from 5.6% in 2021 to 6.7% in 2022. It’s been something of a Jeykll-and-Hyde season for Hendricks, who has allowed two or fewer runs in nine of his starts this year but has also been torched for six or more runs on four separate occasions.
Signed to a four-year, $55.5MM contract extension late in the spring of 2019, Hendricks is being paid $14MM this season and is due to earn $14MM again in 2023. The Cubs then hold a $16MM option for the 2024 season, which can be bought out for $1.5MM.
The timing of the injury isn’t great for the Cubs if they had any thoughts about potentially marketing Hendricks prior to the Aug. 2 trade deadline. While he’s no longer the steadily excellent performer he was from 2014-20 (3.12 ERA in 1047 1/3 innings), Hendricks might still have held some appeal as a back-of-the-rotation veteran — particularly if the Cubs were willing to cover some of the remaining money on the contract. Instead, he’ll be sidelined at least two weeks and perhaps more. That still leaves some time between his earliest potential activation date and the Aug. 2 deadline, but the shoulder issue makes a deal even more of a long shot than it might’ve already been, due to the financial component of a deal.
Hendricks joins a full rotation’s worth of talent on the injured list for the Cubs, who are also currently without Marcus Stroman, Wade Miley, Drew Smyly, Alec Mills and Adbert Alzolay due to various injuries. At the moment, the only healthy rotation options are Justin Steele, Keegan Thompson and Adrian Sampson.
Given that huge slate of injuries, it’s possible that Espinoza, once one of the game’s top-ranked pitching prospects, could get some opportunities in the rotation. Injuries and the canceled minor league season in 2020 kept Espinoza off the mound entirely from 2017-20, however, and he’s had a brutal showing thus far in a dozen Double-A starts. Through 44 1/3 innings with the Cubs’ Tennessee affiliate, the 24-year-old Espinoza has a 7.11 ERA with 10 home runs allowed. He’s fanned 27.8% of his Double-A opponents but also issued walks at a 12.9% clip and plunked another five batters (representing an additional 2.6% of his total hitters faced).
I don’t remember Kyle Hendricks ever going on the injured list before
Only in 2017. He’s been durable.
The professor has been hand grading too many assignments, needs to switch to scan tron grading.
But then there’s no partial credit!
No trade for you!
Might make him more tradable. Mets say they won’t give up top prospects but are willing to take on money. Heyward (underachiever) and Hendricks (injured) are owed $37M for 2023, Mets take them both and get a few months of Contreras along with Robertson and Smyly for a very little in return. Cubs could always pull a Chapman and sign Contreras back in the off-season. In the meantime they unload payroll and the Mets get some icing for their cake.
That’s not how it’s going to work.
The Cubs will trade Contreras and will pay the rest of his salary to get the best prospect package.
The Cubs will DFA Heyward in the offseason. I can’t see any team trading for him with the way he has played the last two seasons.
The Cubs will hold onto Hendricks. They would be better off hoping for a rebound from him next season. Plus they need some semblance of a starting rotation for next year.
Robertson, Givens, Martin, and Smyly will be traded for whatever they can get.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Happ traded, too, while his value is high.
Buscemi is one of my favorite actors, nice choice. Happ would be an upgrade over Gallo/Hicks, but I don’t think the Yankees intend to give up any top prospects either.
Because the author used the phrase “second straight season of lackluster results” is there anyone else out there with the thought that the ban on sticky stuff MIGHT be a predecessor to some of the results Hendricks has seen since that time?
I get the spin rate for the power pitchers—but being from Chicago there has been a pretty significant drop in production from both Hendricks and Keuchel since that time. Thought spin rate may not by their calling card—pinpoint location absolutely is. Is it possible that these two rely just as much on grip to locate a ball in a three inch spot and just the smallest lost of command for them is far more impactful than a certain spin rate?
Just asking.
And no timetable at for him—shut him down for the season—no reason to pitch another game.
I’d say it’s the difference between him throwing 88-90 and now 86-88.. might not sound like much, but when you’re giving big league hitters even milliseconds to adjust, it makes a big difference
all the trade chips getting hurt
Rooting for Espinosa!
Why not bring up Kilian instead??
I’m a Braves fan but why bring up This guy his stats are terrible
It does always seem strange the 4th best pitcher on AAA comes up and not the ace. Maybe service time manipulation? Morel wasn’t too 10 on prospect list but he is looking great . Cubs aren’t concerned with record with no chance of making playoffs
The next SP I want to see is Cam Sanders. He reportedly has the best stuff in Iowa and has the bloodlines. Kilian is trying to get back on track after several shaky starts including a couple in MLB.
They chose the worst possible time to being up Killian. If you look at his starts in the minors right before getting brought up he wasn’t at his greatest the last few. I think they chose a horrible time to bring him up.
Fully expecting Espinoza to spin 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER against the Padres in a month or so. Good thing Padres got a few weeks of the Jake Marisnick show during last season’s spiral for Espinoza.
Hendricks was a very good part of our Cubs staff for many seasons. I’m more concerned now with this roster. They seem to lack skill with basic baseball fundamentals and strategy. One glaring example was the Cubs recent 5-2 loss to the Brewcrew in extra innings. Our Cubs loaded the bases in the top of 10th with one out. Up comes Contreras and Happ. They both struck out: Contreras on 3 pitches swinging all out of the strike zone; and Happ taking a 3rd strike down the gut. Not one pitch was even fouled off. Both players exhibited mental errors for that bases loaded situation. At this point with the team so horrible, release these inattentive dolts. Please Auntie Em!
As far as mental errors, you must be thinking of that other team across town. The Cubs have been playing solid, albeit boring, fundamental baseball. Aside from Bote and Wisdom who are strikeout-prone and Willson, who went to the Javy Baez all-or-nothing school of situational hitting, Ian Happ has been hitting well as of late. If you’ve been paying any attention at all, they’ve now won four series in a row against contending teams, so horrible isn’t the word I’d use to describe them. And to release them is simply asinine.
I agree the term horrible was a bit rash. Yet, a record of 34-51 suggests horrible. Many shortsighted koolaider Cubs fans over the years think that winning a few games once in awhile is excellent and that .500 ball is optimum performance. Ross is in the same category as Uncle Sveum. By the way, I consider the WhiteSox as the AAA affiliate of Chicago.
It’s funny– you simply go out and troll Contreras and Happ who all season have been flat out all stars. Willson has been top five in many offensive stats all year and Happ has been a top five-ten outfielder offensively. Sometimes there just happens to be a pitcher out there on the mound that wins the battle.
I’m searching and haven’t found an Angel fan out there asking for the release of Mike Trout when he just recently struck out nine times in a three game span.
You’re comparing Happ to Trout? Bwahhaa! Happ was converted to the outfield due to lack of defensive strength on the infield. He is simply mediocre defensively. He’s a career under .250 hitter posting a whopping .226 last season. And that is in our beloved Wrigley Field. I’ll give you that he swings as hard as he can on most offers, apparently deciding when to swing long before a pitch is let.
Yet cubs beat hader last night and won 4th series in a row. Won 9 of last 14. So much for getting too 5 pick
Long way to go, and the Cubs will likely be worse the second half after trade deadline deals.
They won those games and made it all the way up to a .400 win/loss percentage.
They won those games and made it all the way up to a .400 win/loss percentage.