LOS ANGELES — Liam Hendriks said his right elbow is structurally good, or, “goodish for me,” as he put it Tuesday. So that’s encouraging.
But he won’t be bull-rushing his way back to the White Sox bullpen in typical Hendriks fashion.
“There’s no strain down there,” Hendriks said, speaking publicly for the first time since he landed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with right elbow inflammation. “Just a little bit of fluid buildup back here. It’s sitting on the origin of it. Hopefully we get that out of there and it’s all back to normal from there.”
Hendriks said he has been sore since before his first rehab assignment last month. But doctors told him the ligament looked better than it did last June when he missed three weeks with a flexor strain.
“Take that for what it’s worth,” he said. “Shut down for throwing for a little bit, but hopefully get this back and I don’t miss too much time.”
Hendriks received a cortisone shot Sunday and will get a PRP injection in the next couple of days, he said. Hendriks, who made his season debut on May 29 after receiving treatment for Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, needed clearance from his oncologist for those.
Knowing Hendriks has fought a grueling battle with cancer, then climbed back to pitching form, the Sox face no temptation to hurry him back back by any means, even though his absence is a significant blow to the bullpen as the Sox desperately try to climb back to the .500 mark.
“He’ll continue to see the doctors and do his thing,” manager Pedro Grifol said before the Sox played the Dodgers late Tuesday night. “We’re optimistic about it but we’ll see. It’s one of those where it will take a little bit, but at least there’s some optimism that he might be back.”
Hendriks said he couldn’t make a fist after his last outing Friday against the Marlins.
“Definitely worried me a little bit because I know that I don’t have the greatest integrity of an elbow, the mileage I put on it and everything like that,” he said. “It’s always a little concerning, but after I got the scans done, I was cautiously optimistic and after once I got the readings done, it was a sigh of relief.”
Hendriks pushed through health issues last season, but “I think I need to be cognizant of the way my body reacts and feels with everything,” he said.
“Just due to the fact I still don’t have the strongest immune system and there’s a lot of other things going on in my body.”
Clevinger vs. Dodgers
Wednesday starter Mike Clevinger faced the Dodgers three times as a Padre last season, going 0-2 with a 9.69 ERA. In two starts against the Dodgers in a six-day span in September, Clevinger gave up nine runs on nine hits and three walks in 8 1/3 innings.
Ground zero
Tim Anderson and Andrew Benintendi, 1-2 in Grifol’s lineup, were still looking for their first homers of the season.
“You know Benintendi hasn’t been healthy,” Grifol said. “He’s had some hand issues, had some stuff.”
Grifol noted Benintendi’s .345 on-base percentage and plus outfield play.
“He’s getting to a place where he’s feeling good,” Grifol said. “He doesn’t concern me at all.”