Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks is on his way back to the majors after recently declaring himself cancer-free, and the pitcher believes he might have pitched all of last season with lymphoma.

“If I had the ones (lumps) in my neck in June and the ones in my hip were bigger, there was always the chance I pitched damn near all year with lymphoma in my system,” Hendriks said during a press conference on Wednesday, according to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin.

Hendriks, who was an All-Star in 2022, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January and immediately underwent treatment. The 34-year-old announced in April he was in remission and said Wednesday he will begin a minor-league rehab assignment for the White Sox Triple-A affiliate on Friday.

 

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Hendriks could return to the big-league squad after four or five minor-league outings.

Hendriks has been an integral part of the White Sox bullpen since joining them before the 2021 season. The Australian has saved 75 games with a 2.66 ERA and 13.8 K/9 in 127 outings for the South Siders.

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