The White Sox are declining Liam Hendriks’ $15 million option for next season and will pay their cancer-surviving closer a $15 million buyout spread over the next 10 years, the club announced Friday.
The Sox also said starting pitcher Mike Clevinger declined his $12 million mutual option that includes $4 million buyout, and they outrighted outfielders Clint Frazier and Trayce Thompson to Triple-A Charlotte, bringing the 40-man roster to 36.
Hendriks underwent Tommy John surgery in August and is likely to miss most of the 2024 season, so the decision was not unexpected. Hendriks has expressed a strong desire to remain with the Sox, and the two sides could work out an agreement allowing him to rehab at the team’s facility in Arizona and pitch in 2025.
The Sox will continue to communicate with Hendriks and his representatives.
The former All-Star and Relief Pitcher of the Year appeared in five games in 2023 and received the Players Choice Award for American League Comeback Player of the Year Thursday.
Hendriks, 34, declared himself cancer-free in April after a bout with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He began treatment in January, returned to pitch on May 29 but was sidelined in August by Tommy John surgery.
In 2021, Hendriks signed a three-year contract with the Sox with a $54 million guarantee.
