Liam Hendriks is hanging up his cleats.
The longtime major-league reliever announced his retirement from baseball on social media Tuesday, closing the book on a 14-year career.
"After years of staring down hitters, I have decided to officially retire from Major League Baseball," he said in an Instagram post. "My arm has told me in no uncertain terms that it has exactly zero fastballs left in it, and my elbow has made it clear that throwing anything harder than a light breeze now requires a three-day recovery window."
Hendriks was a three-time all-star, two-time Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year award winner and the recipient of the AL Comeback Player of the Year in 2023.
He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2023 and finished chemotherapy in April of that year, later announcing that he was cancer-free before making his return to the mound in May.
Hendriks won the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPYs in July 2023.
The six-foot right-hander from Australia spent time with Minnesota, Toronto, Kansas City, Oakland, the Chicago White Sox and Boston between 2011 and 2025. He threw 663.2 career innings, collected 116 saves and struck out 739 batters.
He led the American League with 38 saves for the White Sox in 2021.
"I will deeply miss the rush of coming out of the bullpen to close out a game in the ninth inning," Hendriks added in his post. "I will not, however, miss sitting in a pitch-black video room watching endless tape of opposing hitters, getting my arm scraped raw by the athletic trainer every week, or the existential dread of facing Aaron Judge or Salvy Perez — who I am completely convinced treat my heater like a light afternoon snack."
Hendriks last pitched in the majors with the Red Sox in 2025, working 13.2 innings after missing all of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His comeback was cut short by ulnar nerve transposition surgery, ending his season.
Boston declined a team option on Hendriks' contract for 2026, making him a free agent.
After pitching with the Twins in spring training, Hendriks later caught on with the Chicago Cubs as a minor-league free agent and made five appearances in their farm system before being released on July 16.
"As for what’s next: My immediate retirement plans include testing whether my elbow can survive holding onto the leash when my dog sees a rabbit, and choosing a new hobby where being single-handedly responsible for losing a game doesn’t lead to ESPN SportsCenter breaking down my psychological collapse in slow motion for the next 24 hours," he wrote.
"Thanks for the ride. It’s been an absolute blast."
