Hendriks transferred to 60-day IL after setback with hip injury

BOSTON – Liam Hendriks won’t be pitching for the Red Sox anytime soon.

Not only was the right-hander transferred to the 60-day injured list prior to Tuesday’s game against the Rockies, but manager Alex Cora revealed that the veteran suffered a setback with the right hip injury that led to his initial shutdown in late May.

“He had a setback yesterday,” Cora said. “It grabbed him again. They're actually going to talk today to see where we’re at, and [he’ll] probably get a second opinion. But it wasn't good yesterday.

“He said that the harder he pushed, he felt it. I don't want to say we're back to square one, but they'll talk and seek other opinions and see what happens.”

It has been a tough run of injury luck for Hendriks since the Red Sox signed him to a two-year, $10 million contract while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery in Spring Training of 2024.

The plan was for Hendriks to pitch for Boston down the stretch last season, but multiple setbacks during his recovery prevented that from happening.

Nonetheless, Hendriks came to camp this year with a shot to win the closer’s job. He was beaten out by Aroldis Chapman.

And just hours before Opening Day in Texas, Hendriks was placed on the IL with right elbow inflammation.

Hendriks was activated on April 19, but he struggled in 14 appearances (6.59 ERA) before the hip injury popped up.

When a player is transferred to the 60-day IL, time already served on the 15-day IL counts, meaning that Hendriks would first be eligible to pitch for Boston on July 27. However, it seems highly unlikely Hendriks will be ready that soon.

The Red Sox are down another key reliever in Justin Slaten, who has been on the 15-day IL since June 1 (retroactive to May 29) with right shoulder inflammation.

Slaten hasn’t started throwing off a mound yet and is doing most of his work indoors.

While the Red Sox bolstered their bullpen by adding Jordan Hicks as part of the package for Rafael Devers, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is likely to be on the prowl for more setup relief in the days leading up to the July 31 Trade Deadline.

With Hendriks no longer taking up a spot on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox selected the contract of right-handed reliever Isaiah Campbell from Triple-A Worcester while optioning righty starter Richard Fitts to Worcester.

Hunter Dobbins will likely take the spot of Fitts in the rotation when he is activated during the four-game series against the Rays that starts Thursday.