Veteran right hand Kyle Hendricks Call it a career. The longtime Cubs pitcher, who spent the 2025 season with the Angels, is retiring, according to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Hendricks, 35, will forever be associated with the Curse-Breaking Cubs, but he was originally drafted by the Rangers. Texas grabbed him with an eighth-round pick in 2011. A year later while in High-A, he was traded to the Cubs as part of a July 2012 trade that made him a member of the Cubs. Ryan Dempster to Texas.
He continued to climb the minor league ranks and made his debut with the Cubs in 2014. He started 13 games that year, worked 80 1/3 innings, and allowed 2.46 earned runs per nine. His velocity was just above 90 mph, but he showed great command of the five-pitch mix, relying more on disrupting batters’ timing than missing bats. He eventually earned the nickname “The Professor” due to his cerebral approach to pitching and the fact that he attended Dartmouth College, an Ivy League school.
At the time of his debut, the Cubs were still searching for their first World Series title since 1908 and also in the midst of a rebuild. Despite Hendricks’ strong debut in 2014, the Cubs finished fifth in the National League Central for the fifth consecutive year.
But the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. People like Hendrix, Anthony Rizzo, Jake Arrieta and Javier Baez Already on the list. Kris Bryant Has yet to make his debut, but is already the top prospect in baseball entering 2015. Cubs signing creates huge buzz, signals new era Jon Lester A six-year, $155MM contract.
In 2015, Hendricks began his first full major league season. He pitched 180 innings in 32 starts, posting a 3.95 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate, and 51.3% ground ball rate. The Cubs emerged from their rebuild winning 97 games and clinching a playoff berth. At the time, the wild card game was just a play-off game between the two clubs. The Cubs defeated the Pirates and then the Cardinals in the NL Cup, defeating both division rivals, but were swept by the Mets in the NL Cup.
The Cubs and Hendricks found another gear the following year. Hendricks led the league with a 2.13 ERA in 190 innings. He finished third in Cy Young voting Max Scherzer and Leicester. The Cubs won 103 games and finished atop the Central Division. They beat the Giants in the NLDS and the Dodgers in the NLCS. The latter series was sealed when Hendricks pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings in Game Six. That set them up against Cleveland in the World Series, which ended up going seven games. Hendricks got the ball in his final game and went 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run. After ten innings, the Cubs finally won 8-7. Hendricks had a 1.42 ERA in five postseason starts.
It ultimately proved to be a high point for both the team and Hendricks himself, though the team had a few more winning seasons and Hendricks remained a vital part of the rotation. In March 2019, he and the Cubs agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $55.5MM. The deal will keep him with Wrigley through 2023, although the Cubs will eventually pick up a club option for 2024 as well.
By then, Hendrix’s results had declined. As mentioned, he was never a fast, strikeout guy, but those attributes have become well below par as he’s aged. This leads to him posting a 5.92 ERA in 2024. He and the Cubs eventually parted ways after that season. He signed a one-year, $2.5MM contract with the Angels early in the 2024-25 offseason. He grew up in Southern California, which allowed him to play for a team close to his roots for the first time. He made 31 starts for the Halos and had a 4.76 ERA.
Overall, Hendricks appeared in 307 games, pitched 1,745 innings, and posted a 3.79 ERA with a 105-91 record. He made 146 quality starts, including six complete games and four shutouts. He struck out 1,373 opponents. Baseball Reference estimates he will earn just over $86MM over his career. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Professor on a great career and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
Photos by Jeff Curry, Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
