OAKLAND — Less than 11 months ago the Athletics designated pitcher Liam Hendriks for assignment, making him available on waivers to any team that was interested in his services.
The Australian-born right-hander was up for grabs, but considering Hendriks had a 7.36 earned run average in 13 appearances, there were no takers. So Hendriks accepted an assignment to Triple-A in hopes of rediscovering his fastball, which had dipped into the low 90s after consistently being in the 95 to 97 range and sometimes higher.
Mission accomplished.
Hendriks, who returned to the Athletics last September and started eight games plus an ill-fated wild card playoff game against the New York Yankees as an “opener,” has a new role closer to the end of games than the beginning.