There will be numerous position battles to watch in preseason for the Boston Red Sox. There is enormous outfield depth for the Red Sox and the best position player battle is going to be the second base position. There is highly touted prospect Kristian Campbell as well as Vaughn Grissom. Both bring an enormous blend of skill and it’ll be eager to see who emerges. This also includes to big marquee signing of Alex Bregman.

But the biggest and most intriguing battle in Spring Training is for the closer roll. The Red Sox have numerous options for who can be the closer and help preserve the victories. They signed Aroldis Chapman, and also have Justin Slaten who has shown he can be a guy they turn the ball to. But the biggest aspect of this is Liam Hendriks.

Hendriks Motivated to Close Games

Liam Hendriks and his era in Boston is going to hit like a Mack truck. Hendriks is an electrifying pitcher and was a great reliever for the Chicago White Sox. He really emerged as a closer towards the tail end of his baseball career, finishing with 25 or more saves in three of four seasons (2019-22). However, due to his health, Hendriks hasn’t pitched in a big league game in two years. Placing any sort of label or expectation that he can be the savior of the position isn’t fair nor should be the case. However, he is motivated. This is a player with a fiery edge and a competitive nature and now gets to hop on the bump and play the game he loves the most. Yes, it might be Spring Training, but Hendriks was not shy to showing how motivated he was.

Liam Hendriks dropping f-bombs that could be heard in Massachusetts.

🎥: @alexspeier https://t.co/vJ5WLWr4YP pic.twitter.com/eqvW8SQX0u

— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) February 26, 2025

Alongside the emotion and the thrill of pitching again in a competitive manner, Hendriks did a good job in his relief inning. In his debut against the Rays (Wednesday), he threw 20 pitches and 12 went for strikes, which is pretty efficient. He has also seen his velocity round out to 96 MPH, which is a significant jump and a huge sign for him. For added context, Chapman clocked in at 101 MPH, so these relievers are throwing heat to begin the spring.

These are all good signs and positives and for a guy that will be a massive addition to the Red Sox bullpen.

A Huge Boost to the Bullpen

This is a Red Sox bullpen that needs a boost and Hendriks really could be that guy. The Red Sox rotation made strides, but the bullpen was a mixed bag of treats. During the 2024 season, the Red Sox finished 24th in ERA and finished with the second most meltdowns in the league during the season. Furthermore, they had the most meltdowns after the All-Star break. Not a great recipe that’s for sure.

It also doesn’t help that they finished with the fourth most blown saves, so solidifying the back end and the bullpen in general is going to be a huge task. For Hendriks, he will have another month to hone in his craft and show the front office he can be the closer he knows he can be and win that job. It is going to be really fun and a guy who is easy to root for.