Hendriks said he discussed the matter with Cora, who clarified that it was “a slip of the tongue, and then he apologized, and we’re moving on. But me not pitching this year is definitely not on the agenda as of now.

Considering he hasn’t pitched since May 27, it was not necessarily a surprise Sunday to hear Alex Cora say that the Red Sox aren’t confident reliever Liam Hendriks will pitch again in 2025. Except, apparently,

Hendriks has not pitched since May 27, with the former All-Star closer hampered by an injury that was initially deemed as right hip inflammation. He was later diagnosed with a sports hernia, but additional testing identified his injury as a strained abdominal side wall.