Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks headed to IL with concerning injury

The Red Sox' 2025 season is about to begin, but they have to deal with one more fresh injury on Opening Day.

Reliever Liam Hendriks, who was on track to begin the season as one of the top setup men behind closer Aroldis Chapman, is instead starting on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Monday, March 24) with "right elbow inflammation." The team announced Hendriks' situation as part of a series of transactions, mostly involving injured players.

Hendriks, 36, has not pitched in the major leagues since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. He made a push to return late in the 2024 season, his first year of a two-year deal with the Red Sox, but was ultimately shut down in September.

It's an unfortunate setback for Hendriks, who was finally just about set to return to a major league mound for the first time in almost two calendar years. The concern in the near future is that there's no new damage to his elbow, especially his UCL.

In the meantime, Justin Slaten will assume an even bigger role in the back end of the bullpen than he already had, and Garrett Whitlock will be leaned on as a long-relief bridge to Chapman.

Boston also announced moves to the IL for several players that were already out with injuries, including starters Brayan Bello (shoulder strain) and Lucas Giolito (hamstring strain), pitcher Kutter Crawdford (patellar tendinopathy), and outfielder Masataka Yoshida (shoulder surgery).

The Red Sox officially kick off the 2025 season at 4:05 p.m. ET against the Texas Rangers. Click here for a full series preview.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.