(Audacy) After a bumpy first two months of the season, Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks has rebounded with a better June. And that might be coming at the perfect time for the Cubs.
With the Cubs well out of the postseason picture, another trade deadline of selling seems like it’s on deck for Chicago. Some players have long seemed certain to be moved, such as star catcher Willson Contreras, but Hendricks has been player whose future feels more up in the air.
Hendricks is the Cubs’ longest-tenured player and is under contract through the 2023 campaign with a vesting option for 2024. However, starting pitching is at a premium this deadline season, with far more demand than supply. And unless the Cubs think they can flip the switch and contend in 2023, then it might be shrewd to just trade him.
Hendricks should draw interest on the trade market, Audacy insider Jon Heyman said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Monday.
“Even when it was going poorly for most of this year, I thought some teams would be interested in Kyle Hendricks," Heyman said. "He’s certainly reliable, he’s one of the few pitchers who never seems to be hurt, and he does have it in him, we’ve seen it, obviously, in the past. There’s a lot of need for starting pitching all around baseball, so I do expect there will be a market for Hendricks. I’d put him on that list with (David) Robertson, Contreras and the other Cubs players who will be out there in the market and being pursued by other teams."
What level of interest Hendricks would draw isn’t entirely clear. Going off his results of only this season would hurt his market. His walks are up, and he has gotten rocked for at least six earned runs four times this season. Hendricks is 3-6 with a 4.90 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.
But if you broaden the view, he’s a veteran starter with control beyond this season who has 12 postseason appearances – including two solid starts in the 2016 World Series. If Hendricks can limit the outings in which he really gets shelled, then he's a quality option for a contending team.
That might be enough to get a team to part with a decent asset for the 32-year-old Hendricks. The Cubs don’t need to move him, but how everything unfolds over the next few weeks could make it tough to justify keeping him.
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