SAN ANTONIO — Kyle Hendricks, who had been the last player remaining from the Chicago Cubs’ 2016 World Series team, is nearing a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, according to a source briefed on the negotiations.
Hendricks, who will turn 35 next month, is getting a major-league deal and a chance to extend his career after a frustrating final season at Wrigley Field, where he had developed into one of the franchise’s most consequential pitchers. Hendricks grew up in Southern California, and his father once worked in the Angels’ ticket office, making this a homecoming.
Nicknamed “The Professor” for his Dartmouth degree and cerebral approach to pitching, Hendricks read the market and did not want to wait around all winter for an opportunity. He’s closing in on a deal while Major League Baseball’s general manager meetings are still taking place at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. Hendricks already earned almost $90 million across his 11 seasons with the Cubs.
Hendricks acknowledged that the Cubs likely would have been forced to release him at some point last season (4-12, 5.92 ERA) if more of the organization’s young pitchers had remained healthy. From the club’s perspective, it felt like Hendricks received a proper send-off in the second-to-last game of the season, when the Wrigley Field crowd gave him a loud standing ovation.
Hendricks, who was acquired from the Texas Rangers in the Ryan Dempster deal at the 2012 trade deadline, quietly developed into one of the game’s most effective starters, at a time when the Cubs transformed their organization. Hendricks dominated the night the Cubs captured their first National League pennant in 71 years, and he started Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
While his already slim margin for error diminished in recent years, Hendricks’ composure, knowledge and experience will be assets for the Angels as they try to build up their pitching program.
(Photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
