Kyle Hendricks bracing for 'unique' start Saturday at Wrigley Field as Cubs contract runs out

When right-hander Kyle Hendricks jogs out to the Wrigley Field mound just before 1:20 p.m. on Saturday, he’ll be retracing the steps he’s taken at the beginning of 135 other starts at home in a Cubs uniform.

“It's going to be tough,” Hendricks said. “It's going to be very unique. I try to keep all my emotions, I try to stay on task, focus on the pitching, one at a time. And I'm really going to have to work hard at that this weekend at Wrigley.”

After 11 major-league seasons with the Cubs, Saturday will mark Hendricks’ last start before hitting free agency for the first time in his career. He knows that along with his excitement to take the mound, mixed feelings are bound to hit him at certain moments moments — as fans in the left-field bleachers rise to greet him on his way to warm up in the bullpen, as he walks to the dugout after his last pitch .

Now 34, Hendricks has been in the Cubs organization since he was 22 years old, acquired from Texas as part of the Ryan Dempster trade. Since then, he’s won an ERA title, claimed a curse-breaking World Series, pitched in 12 playoff games, gotten married, become a father.

“Absolutely wild,” he said of looking back at the span of his time in Chicago. “I had no clue what I was doing; 2014, getting called up, you're trying to just stay quiet, not do anything wrong. You learn from the older guys, the veteran guys. And so all of a sudden, now to be 10-plus years later, I feel like a completely different person. I've matured and grown up, become the man I am today because of what's happened in Chicago.”

It’s fitting that what could be Hendricks’ last game as a Cub comes against the Reds.

He debuted against Cincinnati on July 10, 2014. All he needed was a rough first inning – walking the first two batters he faced and giving up three runs – to settle in. And he went on to prove year after year that elite command could be just as devastating as velocity.

Just as Chicago molded Hendricks, “The Professor” shaped the Cubs’ success in that era as much as any player.

Recent seasons have been more up and down for Hendricks, and included a shoulder injury that sidelined him for almost 11 months. But when it came time for the Cubs to decide whether to pick up his contract option for this year, his bounce-back 2023 season made the choice obvious.

That set him up for a season that tested him in ways he hadn’t experienced before.

“When I got called into the office, I'm like, ‘I know, this is terrible,’” he said of his early struggles. “‘This is so bad. I'm sorry.’ I'm apologizing. I'm putting everything I 've got in and trying to get the work done, but the results just weren't coming there early.’”

He used a stint on the IL and a stint in the bullpen to turn his season around. And he’s only become more consistent late in the year, posting a 3.92 ERA in September.

“I don't think he'd ever been through that before,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said, “where he just felt sort of lost in terms of, ‘I'm not thinking in the ways I normally think, I'm not pitching the ways I normally pitch.’ And for him to redouble his effort to get back there was really impressive.”

Hendricks knows how close his season came to ending prematurely. If it hadn’t been for injuries to other pitchers, he might not be making the start Saturday.

“You're never sure how you're going to respond to the adversity,” Hendricks said. “And I'm just proud that I at least provided a little bit of value, had some good games here after all that, and not just have it all go completely downhill and fall apart on me.

“So I know that there's a lot more left for that reason in me baseball-wise. And I'm just super happy for that, that I still have the love and passion for the game.”

That’s why, though Hendricks’ time with the Cubs could be over, he’s forging ahead.

“My family is excited to take a different journey and experience something new, if that happens,” Hendricks said. “And if not, if we end up back here, even better – we'll be comfortable, we know what to expect. But I'm just looking forward to, hopefully, an opportunity, someone to give me the ball and give me a chance to pitch. That's it.”