Red Sox's Alex Cora Comments on Death Threats Sent to Liam Hendriks on Social Media

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora gave his thoughts Friday on reliever Liam Hendriks recently being the recipient of death threats on social media.

Speaking to reporters, Cora noted that Hendriks' situation has unfortunately become a fairly common occurrence for athletes, saying: "We're in the public eye, and people feel they have the right to say whatever they want. Sometimes, it comes from real people. Other times, it comes from burner accounts—fake people. It puts everyone in a tough spot."

On Thursday, Hendriks made a post on his Instagram Stories in which he condemned the threats against him and his family, writing: "Threats against my life and my wife's life are horrible and cruel. ... I think I speak for all players who have had to deal with this in their career when I say enough is enough."

Cora backed his player's choice to speak out on the matter, saying: "I understand what he's trying to accomplish. We have to protect our players and we have to voice what we think."

Hendriks, 36, is in the midst of his second season with the Red Sox, although he did not play at all in 2024 due to an elbow injury.

He also appeared in only five games for the Chicago White Sox in 2023. Before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery that year, Hendriks also missed time while getting treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with in January 2023.

Hendriks later announced in April 2023 that he was cancer-free, and he finally returned to a major league mound this season after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Although he was a three-time All-Star in 2019, 2021 and 2022 with the Oakland Athletics and White Sox, Hendriks has struggled thus far in Boston.

Over 11 appearances, Hendriks has posted an 0-1 record with a 5.56 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.

The ERA marks his worst since 2013 when he posted a 6.85 ERA over 10 appearances with the Minnesota Twins.

After going eight straight outings without allowing a run, Hendriks was tagged for two earned runs over two-thirds of an inning in a 4-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves last week, following by surrendering three hits and three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning in a 5-1 loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday.

A two-time Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award winner, Hendriks has yet to recapture the form he displayed from 2019 to 2022 when he was one of Major League Baseball's elite closers.

The Red Sox have been mired in a team-wide slump as well, losing six of their past nine games to fall to 25-26 on the season. That puts them in third place in the American League East, six games behind the division-leading New York Yankees.