White Sox's Liam Hendriks Starting Final Chemotherapy Round After Cancer Diagnosis

Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks had a message for the fans on Monday ahead of the team's home opener against the San Francisco Giants.

"Happy Opening Day, Sox fans," he said. "Just want to let you know, I'm starting my last round of chemo today. So I'll see you guys on the South Side soon. Play ball!"

Hendriks announced in January that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and was starting treatment.

There had been messages of optimism regarding his recovery coming from the team even before his comments on Monday. General manager Rick Hahn told reporters last week that the right-hander was "making very good progress," which is one reason Chicago did not place him on the long-term injured list to start the season.

"While we don't currently have a specific timeline available to share with you on his potential return, those of you that pay close attention to our roster will notice that we have not placed him on the 60-day IL, and that is on purpose," Hahn said.

Teammate Lance Lynn talked about Hendriks during an appearance on the Foul Territory podcast (h/t Ryan Taylor of NBC Sports Chicago) and was more specific when it came to a timeline.

"We hope to get him back by June if everything is perfect," Lynn said. "In his mind, he'll be back in May. I was like, 'Well, we'll see.' ... He goes, 'Oh, I'll be ready as soon as they give me the go.'"

Hendriks, 34, has been the anchor of the White Sox bullpen the past two seasons.

He led the league with 38 saves in 2021 and followed up with a 2.81 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 85 strikeouts and 37 saves in 57.2 innings last year. He was an All-Star in each of his first two campaigns with Chicago, bringing his career total to three.

Hendriks has also pitched for the Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics during his career. He began as a starting pitcher but eventually shifted to the bullpen.

He became a closer starting with the 2019 season in Oakland.