Welcome Back: Twins Sign Free-Agent Reliever Liam Hendriks

[TopGunn#22]

I would like to see the Twins sign Kopech.  He would provide potential upside and closing ability.  This would allow Festa to throw less leveraged innings early and if things go well, higher leveraged innings later.

I'm O.K. with signing Liam Hendricks.  He's a lottery ticket and a feel good story on top of that.  I hope he's healthy and can show Twins fans he has something left early in spring training.  As a couple others pointed out, this is a low risk/possible high reward signing.  I prefer to live my live with positivity rather than negativity.  Good Luck Liam Hendricks !!!  

[PDX Twin]

Is Al Worthington still alive?

[AceWrigley]

Liam trying out his new arm. The doctors did say he would be able to master the important movements needed to enjoy a full life.

 

[GNess]

The number of shot in the dark moves seems to reveal what the Twins actually think about their prospects in 2026. Teams invest when they believe they have a shot.

Of course, I am hopeful that Liam puts together a quality late career season.

But this has the feel of adding deck chairs to the Titanic

[LA Vikes Fan]

2 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The vitriol in the comments on this article is one of the main reasons I have paid less and less attention to this website.

This is the Twins giving a former all-star player a chance to make a difference. He potentially fills a position of need. They signed him to a MiLB deal, without a roster or 40-man spot guarantee. He is blocking nobody.

Today, this signing really means nothing other than the positivity of Liam Hendricks still being alive and attempting to continue his career. Tomorrow, he could be a valuable member of the bullpen.

I have to agree with Fire Dan Gladden on both counts. This is a classic lottery ticket; a formerly effective relief pitcher coming back from injury. It might be a complete waste of time or we could wind up with a useful guy that helps the bullpen for a couple of years ala Caleb Theilbar. Maybe more importantly, we should all be cheering for Liam Hendricks. The man had cancer followed by TJ surgery and is trying to come back. Hard not to root for that guy.

I also agree on the whole level of vitriol issue. I don't read the comments in the Athletic because most of them are either two guys insulting each other and claiming they must be on one political extreme or the other, which apparently means you have no value as a human because you don't agree with me, or brilliance such as "the GM sucks", "that player will never amount to anything even though he's 23 years old and is just starting out", or "I'm smarter than everybody else and you're a moron if you don't agree with me." Maybe I'm old school, but to me one of the real beauties of this site is that I've learned things from reading others' comments, people actually listen to each other and potentially adjust their position/thinking based on comments, and people actually try to provide useful information. It's kind of like going to or watching a game with a real knowledgeable fan who happens to root for the same team that you do; it can be a really fun, enriching experience. It would be great if it stayed that way rather than yelling at each other. I can get that by tuning into any political website.

[LA Vikes Fan]

2 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Great non-guaranteed signing. Not sure how many modern day Mariano Rivera's fans in here think are on the market right now, but it's zero, just for the record. This is the RP free agent market right now. Several are better than Chris Paddack, who just signed for 5x the league minimum despite deserving a MiLB contract, just in case anybody was checking. 

Hendriks needs to get some control back and an uptick for velocity. I doubt he'll be able to do it, but he's not under guaranteed contract. The upside is pretty huge, downside is negligable

Thanks for this, Sure makes you hope that we're talking to Danny Coulombe, Shelby Miller, or Andrew Chafin, doesn't it? I don't care that two of those three are left-handed. We just need guys that can get people out. I would actually be even satisfied with Paul Sewald, Jalen Beeks, or Jose LeClerc at this point.

I will say that this reinforces my thinking that Michael Kopech isn't worth the 2 year $10 million-$12 million contract that he is apparently seeking. That looks like a commitment we shouldn't be making.

[gman]

5 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Finally I understand why Hawkins is coaching in the pen - by mid season he will be our closer.

Probablly not closer. He'll be one the youngsters.

[gman]

If he has a quality first 90 games, we may be able to get a left handed corner outfielder for him in July. Maybe. 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

If you look at it in a vacuum, there's nothing inherently wrong with signing Liam Hendriks to a minor league deal. But, there is something inherently wrong with this current iteration of the roster and ownership's complete unwillingness to make changes and moves that will result in a better team and on field product.

[amjgt]

3 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The vitriol in the comments on this article is one of the main reasons I have paid less and less attention to this website.

This is the Twins giving a former all-star player a chance to make a difference. He potentially fills a position of need. They signed him to a MiLB deal, without a roster or 40-man spot guarantee. He is blocking nobody.

Today, this signing really means nothing other than the positivity of Liam Hendricks still being alive and attempting to continue his career. Tomorrow, he could be a valuable member of the bullpen.

Never underestimate the ability of several Twins Daily posters to find a reason to tell us how much the Twins suck and how unhappy they are, no matter how innocuous the original article's topic was.

[nicksaviking]

I mean, this is a reunion for us fans, but no players, coaches or top level front office personnel where here when Hendriks was here, so this seems a bit different than the Taylor Rogers move.

And I hope that unfamiliarity means the table won't be slanted in his favor in terms of making the team. I wish him well and hope his continued MLB career is productive and fulfilling, but here in 2026 with the bullpen starting from scratch, the Twins need to use this year to identify who their top relievers will be in 2027 and 2028 and 2029 and 2030. That's obviously not Hendriks. He should only be a break glass in case of emergency pitcher.

[sweetmusicviola16]

Nothing wrong with seeing what Hendriks has. I have doubts that much is left but its just an milb sign. 

[sweetmusicviola16]

Can Banda do well outside of LAD? That's another question.

[h2oface]

Looks like his eyes didn’t get any closer together.