Twins Grant Liam Hendriks His Release as Bullpen Questions Grow

[HerbieFan]

Rest assured they will be scouring the late camp releases....

[PatPfund]

It might not have paid off, but I would have given Hendricks at least a couple weeks run in the regular season if only because there is some potential upside (more than in the waiver wire rejects filling other spots in the 'pen). Pretty grim stuff going on down in Ft Myers; isn't this when hope is supposed to Spring eternal?

[Whitey333]

Very interesting decision on Liam.  Another story i read from a national source said Hendrix asked for his release.  Oh well I guess it doesn't really matter as apparently tge Twins didn't want him anyway.  So the leftover candidates don't give a person any hope at all.  Some of those guys couldn't make a AAA team.  Oh my its going to be a very long season.

[h2oface]

Navigating the roster without a rudder. 

[IndianaTwin]

17 hours ago, USAFChief said:

He didn't  opt out. He was released. The Twins made this decision, not Hendricks.

See: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/twins-release-liam-hendriks-opt-out.html

As an Article XX(b) free agent (i.e. six-plus years of service, finished last season on a major league roster/injured list) who signed a minor league deal in free agency, Hendriks had uniform opt-out dates written into his contract: one a week before Opening Day, a second on May 1 and a third on June 1. When a player triggers an out clause of that nature, the team has 48 hours to either add him to the 40-man roster or release him back into free agency. The Twins opted for the latter route.

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And from the OP:

[Hendricks] carried multiple opt-out dates, including one a week before Opening Day, another on May 1, and a final date on June 1. Once triggered, the Twins had a 48-hour window to either add him to the 40-man roster or release him back into free agency. Minnesota ultimately chose the latter, ending what had been a quietly intriguing spring storyline.

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So absent evidence to the contrary, Hendricks did opt out in that he forced the Twins to make a decision. Had he not done that, we don't know if the Twins would have released him from the minor league deal anyway, but Hendricks initiated the process. As did Chafin, per the following: 

As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted this week, Chafin and Hendriks were among more than two dozen veteran players whose deals contained an automatic opt-out opportunity under the collective bargaining agreement. Infielder Orlando Arcia also fits that bill. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that Arcia decided not to trigger the out. Urshela didn’t have an automatic opt-out under the CBA, but Hayes suggests his camp negotiated one into his deal.

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We also don't know what's happening behind the scenes. It's even possible the Twins said, "We're not ready to add you. As a veteran, you've earned yourself a shot to be signed elsewhere. If no one claims you, there's a spot for you here in St. Paul as we bide more time together." I'd be fine with them doing that for both Hendricks and Chafin. Less interested in Urshela. 

[saviking]

Between injury and bad play I wonder how many of the relief pitchers we started with are on the roster last game of the season. 

I say 2 or 3 .. 

[Fatbat]

@savikingYou beat me to it. The bull pen will be on par with the metrodome revolving doors. 

[Russ]

Whether Liam has anything left or not, this may point to the "culture" that the Twins supposedly thought Correa brought to the team.  The Twins need to be seen as a team players want to come to.  Getting working on that.

[JD-TWINS]

14 hours ago, HerbieFan said:

Rest assured they will be scouring the late camp releases....

Yep, the problem is about 19 other teams will be scouring as well.

[Jim H]

I am not sure why anyone is upset about the Twins letting Hendricks go. The Twins were trying to catch lightning in a bottle here. Hendricks was not a long term answer or even a medium term answer. In fact, he was unlikely to survive the entire season without injury or even manage to be effective that long.  

The Twins are going to have build a bullpen from mostly their pool of failed starters. Digging people off the waiver wire and finding older relievers trying to comeback to a former level of effectiveness is a stopgap plan.  It took awhile to build the mostly effective bullpen they traded away. It will take awhile this time too.

[DataNerd]

13 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Very interesting decision on Liam.  Another story i read from a national source said Hendrix asked for his release.  Oh well I guess it doesn't really matter as apparently tge Twins didn't want him anyway.  So the leftover candidates don't give a person any hope at all.  Some of those guys couldn't make a AAA team.  Oh my its going to be a very long season.

Hendriks had a clause in his contract (that most top MiLB free agents get) that he can, at a certain time, force the Twins to either add him to the 40-man or release him.  He triggered that, and the Twins decided they would rather release him than 40-man him.  It's pretty standard for those guys to do, since now he can see if another team wants him on the MLB team, otherwise he would probably be a take for everyone's AAA squad.

[Fatbat]

I heard Joey Gallo is available for long relief. It makes no sense that anyone is pining for Hendrix. How about put Matthews. Raya, Preillip and Festa in the bullpen short term since we got Abel in the rotation. Its about building a young core of guys that will be here for years. Not about scavenging the scrap heap of failure.