Despite signing with the Boston Red Sox last spring, Liam Hendriks has still yet to pitch for the ball club in a regular season game. He was working back from Tommy John in 2024, made some minor league appearances, but elbow inflammation resulted in the Red Sox shutting him down for good as they weren't competing for a playoff spot.

But, on Wednesday, the fiery right-hander was back on the mound in spring training and he had that same energy we've seen from him for years as an elite late-inning arm. In the fourth inning, Hendriks pumped his fist like he was closing out a game and while he may have felt like a jerk, it's all about getting that mindset back.

Via MLB.com:

“You come across as kind of a [jerk] when you do it in the fourth inning of a Spring Training game,” said Hendriks. “But it's nice to get that going, as far as just the mentality of having it in you and doing it that way.”

Hendriks has certainly faced adversity in his career. He had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2023 and somehow recovered and ended up pitching that season. He has tremendous energy on the hill and his passion shines through every time he takes the baseball.

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The Red Sox veteran will be competing for the closer job and his velocity continues to trend upwards, touching 96 on Wednesday:

“My first [live batting practice], I was 91 or 92 [mph],” said Hendriks. “Second one was 92 to 94. Last one was 91 to 93. Today was 93 to 96. It’s trending in the right direction, which is nice, but it’s also Spring Training, and I do a lot better when there's repercussions on the line, when there’s another team and an umpire.”

Hendriks will have Aroldis Chapman and Justin Slaten as his competition for the ninth inning job and regardless if he wins it or not, the Aussie will approach his outings the same way:

“I just want to be given an opportunity,” the Red Sox righty said. “If I win the job, I win the job. If I don't win the job, I don't win the job. It's not going to change how I go about pitching. It's not going to change my mentality towards anything. But fist bumping in the seventh, it’s kind of like, ‘This guy is a knob.’ You fist bump at the end of a game, it’s more electric.”