Free agent right-hander Kyle Hendricks and the Angels are reportedly in settlement on a one-year deal that can pay him $2.5MM. The Angels have a full 40-man roster and might want to make a corresponding transfer at any time when this cope with the Wasserman consumer turns into official.
Hendricks, 35 in December, shall be suiting up for a staff aside from the Cubs for the primary time if the deal will get finalized. Although he was drafted by the Rangers in 2011, he was traded to the Cubs previous to his main league debut, as a part of the July 2012 commerce that despatched Ryan Dempster to Texas.
He was capable of get to the massive leagues by 2014 and rapidly established himself as a strong rotation piece. He didn’t have overpowering stuff however confirmed a knack for limiting harm, incomes the nickname “The Professor”. He made 13 begins and logged 81 1/3 innings in his debut, permitting simply 2.46 earned runs per 9 innings regardless of a low strikeout charge of 14.6%.
From there, he discovered a couple of extra punchouts however his success was typically constructed round weak contact. From 2014 to 2020, he tossed over a thousand innings for the Cubs with a 3.12 ERA, 20.8% strikeout charge, 5.3% stroll charge and 47.5% floor ball charge. He was a pillar of the Cubs in that point, serving to them turn into a perennial contender and break their World Collection curse in 2016.
The previous few years have been a bit extra rocky, nonetheless. In 2021, his strikeout charge dipped to 16.7% and his ERA climbed to 4.77. In 2022, a capsular tear in his proper shoulder restricted him to 16 begins with a 4.80 ERA. He didn’t require surgical procedure however was out of motion till Might of 2023.
He managed one thing of a rebound when he obtained again on the hill. Final yr, he posted a 3.74 ERA over 24 begins after recovering from that shoulder harm. His 16.1% strikeout charge was nonetheless low however he solely walked 4.7% of batters confronted and prevented batters from producing massive exit velocity.
The Cubs had been inspired sufficient to set off a $16.5MM membership choice to convey him again for 2024, a part of the extension the 2 sides agreed to forward of the 2019 season. However that’s a transfer they probably remorse, as Hendricks couldn’t hold his bounceback getting into 2024. He struggled out of the gate and obtained bumped to the bullpen. Although he finally retook a rotation function, he completed the yr with a 5.92 ERA.
There is likely to be a little bit of dangerous luck in there, as Hendricks was solely capable of strand 64.2% of baserunners this yr, nicely beneath the 72.1% league common. His 4.98 FIP and 4.83 SIERA on the season recommend he deserved higher than his ERA would recommend, however nonetheless aren’t excellent numbers.
Placing these latest ups and downs collectively, Hendricks has a 4.80 ERA for the reason that begin of 2021. His 43.3% floor ball charge in that point is round league common and his 6% stroll charge fairly robust, however his 16.5% strikeout charge nicely beneath par.
Maybe the Angels see a solution to get him again on monitor or just need some reasonably priced veteran innings on what could have been a hometown low cost. Veteran innings eaters can typically safe offers near eight figures, even with out robust total outcomes. 43-year-old Wealthy Hill obtained $8MM from the Pirates going into 2023 on the heels of a season by which he posted a 4.27 ERA. Jon Lester obtained $5MM from the Nationals for his age-37 after posting a 5.16 ERA. Corey Kluber obtained $10MM from the Crimson Sox after placing up a 4.34 ERA in his age-36 season.
Hendricks is youthful than these guys however signing for much less, very early within the offseason of his very first journey to free company. Since he grew up in Orange County, maybe he needed to be near house and rapidly obtained a deal accomplished with the Halos, although that’s completely speculative.
Signing Hendricks would match with the membership’s longstanding aversion to spending on the rotation. As proven on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, probably the most they’ve spent on a beginning pitcher up to now decade was three years and $39MM for Tyler Anderson. Aside from that and a two-year arbitration deal for Shohei Ohtani, they haven’t given any beginning pitcher a multi-year deal in that timeframe.
That tendency together with struggles to develop pitching internally have led to ongoing beginning pitching deficiencies in Anaheim. The membership has a 4.54 rotation ERA over the previous decade, twenty fourth in baseball for that stretch, principally forward of golf equipment that underwent yearslong rebuilds. 2024 was no exception because the Angels starters had a collective 4.97 ERA this yr, which was higher than solely the Marlins and Rockies. One in every of their extra gifted starters goes to be on the shelf for some time, as Patrick Sandoval had UCL surgical procedure in June.
Going into 2025, the rotation combine has loads of uncertainty. Anderson, José Soriano, Jack Kochanowicz, Reid Detmers, Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri and Chase Silseth are among the choices, although there are query marks with every. Anderson had a 3.81 ERA however outperformed his peripherals and had a 5.43 ERA the yr earlier than. Soriano seemingly had a breakout marketing campaign this yr however didn’t pitch a lot within the 2020-2023 interval thanks to 2 Tommy John surgical procedures. Detmers has proven promise at occasions however had a 6.70 ERA within the majors this yr and wasn’t significantly better in Triple-A. Silseth spent most of 2024 battling an elbow harm. Kochanowicz solely has 11 MLB begins whereas Dana and Aldegheri every have simply three.
For a membership that hopes to compete in 2025, including to that rotation is a smart path. There are extra thrilling choices than Hendricks on the market however his monitor report of reliability is kind of robust. His modest incomes energy lined up with the membership’s monitor report relating to not spending a lot on the rotation, so the celebrities have aligned to have Hendricks be near house this yr. For the Cubs, they not have any connection to their curse-breaking staff on the roster, as Hendricks was the ultimate holdout from that membership.
Bruce Levine of 670 The Rating (X hyperlink) first relayed that the 2 sides had been nearing a one-year deal. Jon Heyman of The New York Put up (X hyperlink) pegged the worth round $3MM. Joel Sherman of The New York Put up (X hyperlink) first reported the $2.5MM quantity.
