May 25: The Cubs have announced to reporters, including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, that Hendricks has been officially reinstated with Nick Madrigal optioned in a corresponding move.
May 24: The Cubs are going to be reinstate right-hander Kyle Hendricks from the injured list, with Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic among those to relay the information from manager David Ross. Hendricks will start Thursday’s game against the Mets.
Hendricks, 33, will be making his first major league appearance in almost a year. He last climbed the hill on July 5 of last year, after which he was placed on the injured list with a shoulder strain. Initial MRIs didn’t reveal any structural damage but he was eventually diagnosed with a capsular tear. The tear was relatively small and didn’t require surgery, but he has nonetheless required a lengthy period of time to get back to full health.
The righty had spent many years as a reliable cog in the Cubs’ rotation prior to falling off a bit in recent seasons. From 2014 to 2020, he logged over a thousand innings with a 3.12 ERA. His 20.8% strikeout rate in that time was on the modest side but he showed excellent control with a 5.3% walk rate and kept the ball on the ground at a 47.5% clip. That also included several strong postseason starts, such as 2016 when he took the ball five times with a 1.42 ERA and helped the Cubs win the World Series for the first time in over a century. He’s now the only Cubs player from that curse-breaking club that’s still on the roster.
In 2021 and 2022, however, he posted a combined 4.78 ERA with all of his rate stats worsening by a bit. He stuck out 17.3% of batters faced while walking 6% and getting grounders on 41% of balls in play. Hendricks has been rehabbing in recent weeks, making five starts with a 5.75 ERA in that time. However, most of that damage came in the first two outings, as he had a 1.69 ERA in the final three. Only time will tell what sort of results he can post at the major league level after the long injury layoff.
The Cubs’ starters have a collective 3.93 ERA this year, which places them 10th out of the 30 clubs in the league. Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele and Drew Smyly are all posting good results, though Jameson Taillon has an 8.10 ERA through seven starts. There’s surely a lot of bad luck in there given his .369 batting average on balls in play and 50% strand rate, leading to a nicer 4.93 FIP and 4.52 SIERA. He’ll undoubtedly have a long leash to figure things out since he just signed a four-year, $68MM deal this winter. Hendricks figures to take the rotation spot of Hayden Wesneski, who was recently optioned after posting a 5.03 ERA through eight starts.
The performance of Hendricks in the remainder of this season will impact the club on the field but also from a business perspective. He and the club signed a four-year $55.5MM extension going into 2019, with 2023 being the final guaranteed season. He’s making $14MM this season and the club has a $16MM club option for 2024 with a $1.5MM buyout.
Hey there’s a writer here who finally correctly reported Hendricks’ non-surgery.
Golf clap
Kyle Hendricks hasn’t pitched on a major league mound facing major league hitters due to injury since last July. David Ross let’s him throw Over/Under 90 pitches?
Three innings if he is not sharp and five if he is on his game.
I say under ninety pitches.
Low 70’s for Kyle. 1st time back in a long time. Anymore than that would be careless on the coaching staff. Hopefully he’s recovered and can help the Cubs. We will see.
Hendricks last outing was 6 innings and 80 pitches. Whether his shoulder holds up without the surgery is the question. I still say it’s a long shot. Cubs Burdi had an appendectomy and the Cubs brought up Asad also so look for a piggyback start. Burdi just can’t catch a break Bullpen rested fully thanks to Stroman.
I’d set that over/under line at more like 70-75.
3 2/3, 60 pitches, 2 runs.
Rooting for the Professor but doubting there’s much in the tank.
Same. He looked good in his last 2 outings in Iowa..but that is Triple A..it would be nice if he came back to anything resembling his old self since Jaymo has been attrocious
Welcome back. How has he adjusted to the new pitch clock? Has he been told not to clap in the dugout? MLB has changed a lot since his last mound visit, but it’s faster. We still love faster
He’s pitched several games at Iowa. Always been a fast paced pitcher so he’ll be fine with the clock.
Hendricks would of always beat the pitch clock even when there was no pitch clock. You could of turned it off when he pitched anyway.
Yes
Christina Hendricks is a beautiful woman until you reach her feet. There’s just no way.
Kyle considers you an arch enemy now, Notts.
He was definitely a master at getting best results as a soft tosser. Unless the clock is turned back six years his time in Chicago will end anytime between June and end of the season. He went six in his last rehab start however if he fades early in a few starts I could see him in the pen that needs help.
Not a Cubs fan, but I hope the best for him. Knowing he is the last active Cub still on the roster of their WS team is a little mind blowing to me.
2016 doesn’t seem like THAT long ago.
The Mets were expecting to face Jameson Taillon with his 8.10 ERA to oppose Carlos Carrasco with his 8.68 ERA. Mets FO is clueless look for the Cubs to sweep tonight.
Lol Mets
When I saw that scheduled matchup yesterday I thought today’s results would look more like a football score. That could still happen.
@Robrock30 Carrasco has been awful for 3 straight seasons. Last year his stats “looked nice” but he might have had the luckiest season I’ve ever seen for a starting pitcher. He also pitched well vs the bad teams and got obliterated vs any team .500 or over. Heck he even took all of August off because he felt tired and didn’t want to ruin his stats (he blamed it on a fake injury). Not only to mention that he makes an excuse after every start. Some examples include “I no pitch well because of pitch clock” or “I no pitch well cuz I got a Roooookieee catcher”. You can go back to when Eppler used his 10 mil option on Carraso and see what I said. Every delusional Mets fan was saying I didn’t know anything. Takes a big man to admit when they are wrong, not many on this site
Why Madrigal and not Rios or Mastrobuoni? That’s an odd decision. I wish I understood what the thinking is here, But I don’t.
Probably has more to do with match ups in the next 10 days or so. Mastrobunoi and Rios both hit left handed. Would also love to be a fly on the wall when they make these decisions.
Maybe they want Madrigal to get everyday ABs so he can either improve or showcase for a trade.
“Maybe they want Madrigal to get everyday ABs”
I think you got it.
Does Ríos have options? I thought he used his last one last year in LA. Could be same for other player
I didn’t think so either but it was pointed out to me I was wrong. You can send him up and down 5 times I think and it still counts as 1 option. Anyway he won’t be here next year because then he will definitely have no more options and won’t be worth keeping if he even lasts that long.
You’re out Nick.
Go play in the corn.
If I was a conspiracy theory type guy I might see a deal coming in the near future. With Vasquez getting it done at AA, Alcantara still doing OK at AAA Strumpf finally looking like what they thought he would be, Maybe they’re letting him play to make a deal.
Slaughter is also hitting well at Iowa. There is a BIG 40-man logjam coming in November, time to start selling and consolidating.
It’s not as bad as it seems. A lot of these guys have a couple of years before they are Rule 5 eligible. Plus there’s still some guys who won’t be here next year so spots will open up up. I don’t know how it works out THIS year, but they will be valuable spots down the road. Rios, Bellinger, Mastrobuoni, and Maybe Fulmer, Boxberger, Rucker, Merryweather are all posibilities to go. There will be spots available.
Even if Hendricks has nothing left, we’ll be spared from having to watch Madrigal’s weak ground outs, pop flies, and noodle-armed throws for at least a little while.
Madrigal’s actually played a really solid 3rd across all defensive metrics: 2 DRS, .6 UZR and 3 OAA.
Mastrobuoni knocked down Alonzo’s slicing shot down the 3B line last night and kept him to a single. Alonzo then TOOTBLANs and gets doubled off 1B.
No way Madrigal makes that play.
Madrigal’s actually played a really solid 3rd across all defensive metrics: 2 DRS, .6 UZR and 3 OAA.
Brickhouse- That wasn’t even the same play. Somebody flied out to Happ when Alonso tried to steal second. It wasn’t as dumb as it looked.
Really small sample size. Almost as small as Madrigal and his OPS.
Nope, 50 chances us enough.
Enough for you, maybe. For others who actually know how to evaluate players, not so much. It’s ridiculous how many Cubs fans on this site continue to think this hobbit is valuable in any way, shape, or form.
Madrigal’s 0.3 dWAR this season is…negated by his -0.3 oWAR. That makes him a 0 WAR player overall. If you want to keep believing that the Cubs have some kind of defensive replacement secret weapon on their 40-man roster, go ahead.
You seem emotionally fragile on Madrigal. I didn’t say anything about his overall game (WAR). I never mentioned his offense. I simply stated he has been a solid fielder.i didn’t say he deserved a roster spot. Pretty simple for most people to follow. I’ll try simplify things in the future for ya.
And to those qualified to speak on the matter, Madrigal is qualified to appear on Statscasts defensive rankings for the 2023 season. And he’s the #10 qualified 3rd baseman.
If you’re not familiar with Statcast, they’re the main data collector for MLB and most baseball outlets. So I guess, they’re qualified to determine if Madrigal’s sample size is large enough nearly a 1/3 of the way into the season
“Emotionally fragile.”
LOL.
I’m quite familiar with Statcast, thank you very much.
As soon as you can show me a full season’s worth of stats (i.e. 140+ games and not combining numbers from different years) that shows Madrigal is the defender you say he is, we’ll have a chat.
Sending little Nick down is making a bunch of Cub fans excited
Another bad draft pick by the Sox
This is the first time in history Angel Hernandez has made a good call.
I really had high hopes for Nick as the table setter for years to come. So far, he’s an 88 OPS+ hitter for his career. When all you bring to the table is singles, you’re expendable. 2B/SS is locked up on The North Side for years to come. Maybe he can get something going in Iowa, but I think we’ve seen what he is. Trade pretty much ended up a wash. Kimbrel didn’t do much for the White Sox, and Madrigal didn’t do much for the Cubs. Moving on.
Well we still have Codi Heuer as well.
I still like Madrigal, I think his skill set is a huge weapon coming off the bench in key situations but apparently the Cubs want him to play everyday so he can get back to what he can be/was on the South side (understandably so). I imagine Madrgial will get called up again if/when the Cubs are competitive later in the season to be utilized as such.
Even before his miserable performance with the Cubs, Madrigal never displayed good OBP and/or baserunning skills, which are essential for good leadoff men/tablesetters.
Actually that’s not accurate.
Minors OBP
’18 – .353
’19 – .377
’22 – .372
MLB OBP
’20 – .379
’21 – .349
Are you Madrigal’s agent?
Minor league statistics don’t count in the Major Leagues.
Hie played in 29 and 54 games respectively in 2020 and 2021. Once again, small sample sizes. If he had posted the numbers you quoted over full seasons, I’d be more inclined to agree with you. Going by your logic, Micah Hoffpauir should have won the MVP award in 2008.
I can’t wait to see your evidence that proves Lil’ Nick is a good baserunner.
Words have meaning. You said prior to the Cubs, Madrigal “never” displayed good OBP. “Never” would include minor league stats. I mean baseball players are evaluated on their minor league performance, aren’t they?
300+ PAs over ’20 & ’21 is plenty big sample size.
Why are you mixing in base running stats. You said Madrigal “never” had a quality OBP prior to the Cubs. That’s completely inaccurate and what I addressed. Again, not complex.
Remember, words have meaning. Coherent, accurate statements help everyone understand what you mean.
Point conceded. I should have written, “Nick Madrigal has never displayed good OBP numbers in the Major Leagues over a full season.” especially since you like to cobble together stats from partial seasons to fit your narrative. And it was very silly of me to discount minor league numbers on a site called “MAJOR LEAGUE Trade Rumors.”
I brought up baserunning stats because I had mentioned them in the comment that started this exchange.
Words have even more meaning when one actually reads them.
And that’s fine if the bar you have is a complete season, 600 PAs, or whatever. If you had initially said, “Madrigal has never had a quality OBP for a full season.” Then you have a valid point.
Despite your belief that I’m a Madrigal fanboy, I had banged the drum that I thought he should have started the season in Iowa.
As far as “it was very silly of me to discount minor league numbers on a site called “MAJOR LEAGUE Trade Rumors.”
Writers on this site frequently cite a player’s minor league numbers as a reference point in their articles. The top story currently, Blue Jays placing Jansen on the IL notes corresponding move “Heineman, whom the Jays acquired from the Pirates at the end of April. He only played three games with the Pirates this year, having spent most of the season with the Triple-A clubs of the two organizations. He’s hit .260/.393/.400 between those two clubs.”
Well, shame on me for not articulating my point in the precise language that you require. I made the mistake of assuming that you would know that MLB players are best assessed by their performances over the course of full 162-game seasons. As a hair-splitting contrarian, your talent is unsurpassed. I salute you.
This will delay Madrigal’s march to 3000 hits.
Madrigal will always have a job at Los Pollos Hermanos.
Madrigal no pop…OPS and SLG is worthless in today’s game on top of which he can’t get on base.