'He's building up': Hendriks throws bullpen session with Sox

CHICAGO -- White Sox closer Liam Hendriks threw a live batting practice prior to Friday’s series opener against the Royals, as the right-hander made further progress toward a return to the Majors after going through treatment for stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

There was no specific timetable for Hendriks to rejoin the White Sox set by either manager Pedro Grifol or pitching coach Ethan Katz.

“He’s building up. It’s kind of like his Spring Training,” Katz said. “We’re just kind of getting eyes on him and getting him ramped up and kind of seeing where everything goes.

“You don’t want to rush it. I mean it’s a situation that nobody has much experience with, with what he dealt with, and we just want to make sure we do the right thing by him to take care of him and get him on track when he’s ready.”

Hendriks, 34, announced himself as cancer-free via his Instagram account on April 20. He began an injury rehab assignment on March 5 in Gwinnett with Triple-A Charlotte and struck out five over five innings covering six appearances. Hendriks has a 10.80 ERA, although results don’t matter compared to feel on the mound and raw stuff for one of the game’s top closers.

While he was going through chemotherapy during Spring Training, Hendriks played long toss and even threw bullpens on days he was physically able. There were thoughts of Hendriks returning during this homestand, but with the homestand ending Sunday, that weekend comeback seems unlikely.

“We'll get together as a group, including him, and we'll evaluate what he did out there and we'll make a decision moving forward,” said Grifol, adding Hendriks’ pitch count Friday was in the 20s. “There's no timetable on it, there's no blueprint on it. We're going to evaluate it, evaluate the session out there, talk about it and we'll proceed from there.”

“It’s day by day,” Katz said. “We have some stuff that we need to go through tomorrow, give him the information and also kind of give him time and kind of evaluate this properly and see where it goes. The criteria is when he feels good and he feels ready and when we feel he’s in a good spot to go out there and perform at a high level. Then that’ll be the time.”

The White Sox embark on a road trip this week featuring three games in Cleveland and four in Detroit, which could make either city a return possibility. If the White Sox and Hendriks want him to return in front of a frenzied Guaranteed Rate Field crowd anxiously anticipating his comeback, then a six-game homestand beginning May 29 against the Angels would be the next possibility.

As Grifol and Katz stated numerous times, there is no blueprint for the work needed to come back from a life-threatening disease as Hendriks is doing. The White Sox have an idea for Hendriks’ next mound session, per Katz, but they have to talk to Hendriks.

“Everything was a step in the right direction from the stuff that we had looked at and where he’s going,” Katz said. “It just takes time and we’re just trying to make sure we’re getting all the right information and being able to evaluate it properly. Being around him for two years, his springs are always a bit slower. It’s not just him, it’s most guys, so this is his Spring Training.

“He did a lot of work earlier, but he’s still ramping up. And it takes a little bit of time. Plus there’s also different levels with the adrenaline of a big-league game that we also are factoring in and thinking about. We want to make sure we give him enough time to really hit his stride and be out there and put his best foot forward.”