Red Sox place Hendriks on IL with elbow inflammation

Liam Hendriks' return to the majors has been delayed yet again.

The Boston Red Sox placed the former All-Star reliever on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation ahead of their Opening Day contest against the Texas Rangers.

The IL stint is backdated to March 24. No timetable for his return was announced.

Hendriks, who was slated to form one half of a late-inning bullpen duo with Aroldis Chapman, has been trying to return to the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2023. He struggled during spring training, posting a 9.95 ERA in 6 1/3 Grapefruit League innings.

Hendriks' velocity dipped in his final spring outing, and he didn't recover well, according to Sean McAdam of MassLive. He's been sent to meet with Dr. Keith Meister, who performed his elbow surgery, for a consultation, per The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey.

President of baseball operations Craig Breslow expressed optimism that Hendriks' IL stay will be brief.

"I don't think there's anything significant going on. Just wasn't bouncing back the way he had hoped, stuff wasn't where he wanted it to be," Breslow said, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. "Given Opening Day always brings a ton of excitement and optimism, but in reality, it's one game of 162. It didn't make sense to try to rush him. We'll give him a chance to catch his breath, but feel like he should be back pretty quickly."

The 36-year-old Australian made a triumphant return to the mound in 2023 after recovering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Unfortunately, that comeback lasted just five appearances - he subsequently sustained a torn ulnar collateral ligament that necessitated the elbow surgery.

Before his health troubles, Hendriks emerged as one of the best closers in baseball, winning AL Reliever of the Year honors in 2020 with the Oakland Athletics and 2021 with the Chicago White Sox. He joined the Red Sox on a two-year, $10-million deal last winter.

In addition to Hendriks, the Red Sox also placed outfielder Masataka Yoshida and starting pitchers Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Lucas Giolito on the 15-day IL. Left-handers Chris Murphy and Zach Penrod, meanwhile, were moved to the 60-day IL as part of the roster shuffle to clear roster spots for top infield prospect Kristian Campbell and left-hander Sean Newcomb.