Red Sox Closer Candidate Prepared For Healthy 2025 Season

Liam Hendriks enters the 2025 season healthy as a prime candidate to be the closer for the Boston Red Sox.

His Tommy John rehab process is in the rearview mirror and the two-time All-Star is ready to remind the league why he stood out as one of the best in his role. Hendriks shined in that role during previous stops with the then-Oakland Athletics and the Chicago White Sox. Now, it’s time for him to restore those abilities and push the reshaped Red Sox bullpen to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

“It’s fantastic,” Hendriks told NESN’s Tom Caron on the “310 To Left” podcast. “Obviously, it’s been a while. Just excited about getting into that normal routine. Getting down to Florida a couple weeks earlier. Just make sure I get out there. First Florida spring training in about 10 years. I’ve been in Arizona since 2016.”

Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin anchored the Red Sox bullpen for the last two seasons. Now, Hendriks, Justin Slaten and Aroldis Chapman will shoulder the responsibility while Garrett Whitlock also returns to the bullpen where he originally emerged in Boston four years ago.

You can catch the full clip from “310 To Left” on YouTube or on Spotify.