Australian Baseball League In 2008 Hendriks pitched for Perth Heat in their successful Australian Claxton Shield series and went 3–0 with a 1.90 ERA and 25 strikeouts, a competition high. He was named Rookie of the Year for that season. Liam returned for the Heat in the
inaugural season of the
Australian Baseball League. After starting the season posting seven scoreless innings over three outings, Hendriks endured a rough second half, ending up 1-4 with a 6.49 ERA in eight total games.
Minnesota Twins Hendriks debuted in the Twins organization in 2007 pitching for the
Gulf Coast League Twins. He led the team in
strikeouts with 52. He was also named as a Twins Top 50 prospect. He pitched for the
Perth Heat in the
2008 Claxton Shield and went 3–0 with a 1.90
earned run average (ERA) and 25
strikeouts, a competition high. Hendriks was then added to the Australian national team for the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament pitching five innings of work while only allowing one unearned run alongside two hits and a walk while striking out six. Hendriks underwent back surgery that prevented him from playing in the minors in the 2008 season, but made the
2009 World Baseball Classic roster, the youngest Australian player in the Classic. In 2009, Hendriks spent the season with the Single-A
Beloit Snappers of the
Midwest League and the Rookie-Level
Elizabethton Twins of the
Appalachian League. He went a combined 5–5 with a 3.55 ERA in 14 games, all starts. Hendriks was selected for the 2010
All-Star Futures Game, but developed
appendicitis and was forced to miss the game. On 5 September 2011, Hendriks was called up to the Minnesota Twins from Triple-A
Rochester. He went on to finish the season with an 0–2 record. At the end of the 2011 season he was named the Minnesota Twins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He was an All-Star for the New Britain Rock Cats in 2011, and named an organizational All-Star for Minnesota at the end of the season. He also earned his second invitation to the Futures Game. After a successful spring training (3–1, 2.84 ERA, 8 games/4 starts), Hendriks was named as one of the Twins' starting pitchers for 2012. On 19 September 2012, Hendriks earned his first Major League victory in a 6–4 win against the
Cleveland Indians. On 5 December 2013, the Twins designated Hendriks for assignment, after the signing of pitcher
Phil Hughes.
Toronto Blue Jays On 13 December 2013, Hendriks was claimed off waivers by the
Chicago Cubs. Ten days later, he was claimed off waivers again, this time by the
Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles designated him for assignment on 19 February 2014 to make room for
Ubaldo Jiménez on the active roster. The
Toronto Blue Jays claimed Hendriks off waivers on 21 February 2014. On 10 March 2014, he was optioned to the Triple-A
Buffalo Bisons. Hendriks compiled a 5–0 record with an ERA of 1.46 through nine games (seven starts) with the Bisons, before being called up to the Majors on 23 May 2014. He made his Blue Jays debut that day, picking up a 3–2 win over the
Oakland Athletics. Hendriks started the game and allowed 3 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks and struck out 3 over 5 innings. After 2 starts for the Blue Jays, Hendriks was optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo on 1 June 2014. He posted a 1–0 record with a 2.31 ERA and 8 strikeouts in his 2 starts. Hendriks was called up on 20 June to start against the
Cincinnati Reds, and was sent back down to Buffalo the following day after he pitched only 1 innings and surrendered 6 earned runs. Hendriks was named as the starter for the
International League in the Triple-A All-Star Game after posting a 7–1 record with a 2.19 ERA in 16 starts. Hendriks was named the Top Star of the game. He was recalled from the
Omaha Storm Chasers on 27 August to make a start for the Royals against his former team, the Twins. He was designated for assignment on 24 October when
Moises Sierra was claimed on waivers.
Toronto Blue Jays (second stint) On 30 October 2014, Hendriks was traded back to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Santiago Nessy. Hendriks pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in 2015, and appeared in a career-high 58 games. He would pitch to a 5–0 record, 2.92 ERA, and 71 strikeouts in 64 innings. In the playoffs, Hendriks broke an 85-year-old record in Game Four of the
2015 American League Championship Series on 20 October 2015. After starter
R. A. Dickey gave up five runs, Hendriks entered in as the long reliever and pitched 4 scoreless innings from the second to the sixth and finished with 13 outs from 12 batters faced, breaking the playoff record for more-outs-than-batters-faced performances.
Jim Lindsey previously held the mark with eight outs from seven batters faced in 1930, while playing for the
St. Louis Cardinals. Hendriks was pulled in the seventh inning in what was a criticized move and relievers
LaTroy Hawkins and
Ryan Tepera surrendered seven runs, and with the bullpen depleted at that point, position player
Cliff Pennington pitched the final outs as the Blue Jays lost 14-2. For his record-breaking performance in the ALCS, Hendriks was named the Male Player of the Year by
Baseball Australia, and a finalist for the
Western Australian Sports Star of the Year.
Oakland Athletics On 20 November 2015, the Blue Jays traded Hendriks to the
Oakland Athletics for
Jesse Chavez. Hendriks finished the 2016 season with a 3.76 ERA and 0–4 record, pitching innings in 53 appearances. Hendriks was
designated for assignment on 25 June 2018, and sent outright to Triple-A
Nashville. During the regular season, Hendriks appeared in 25 games with Oakland, pitching 24 innings with a 0–1 record and 4.13 ERA. becoming the first Australian born player ever to start an
MLB postseason game. In 2019, Hendriks took over as the Athletics' closer after an injury to
Blake Treinen and made his first career
All-Star Game, as a replacement for
Charlie Morton. He also earned the inaugural All-MLB Second team honors. Hendriks enjoyed the best season of his career, finishing with a record of 4-4 with an ERA of 1.80 in 75 games, including 2 starts. He also recorded 25 saves while striking out 124 batters in 85 innings. In 2020, Hendriks continued his dominance from 2019, finishing with a 3-1 record with an ERA of 1.78 in 24 games. He recorded 14 saves and 37 strikeouts in innings. In the postseason, Hendriks was 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA against the
Chicago White Sox in the
2020 ALWCS &
Houston Astros in the
2020 ALDS.
Chicago White Sox On 11 January 2021, Hendriks signed a three year, $54 million deal with the
Chicago White Sox, with a club option for a fourth year. Hendriks was named the
AL Reliever of the Month for May and September; he previously received the award twice while with Oakland. Hendriks earned the save in the 2021 All-Star Game at
Coors Field in
Denver, won 5-2 by the American League. Entering the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, Hendriks gave up two hits and struck out one, allowing no runs, all while he was being mic'd up by
Fox, who were broadcasting the game. On 12 August 2021, Hendriks was the first winning pitcher in Iowa during the
Field of Dreams game despite blowing a save opportunity when the White Sox were up 7-4 in the top of the ninth. With two outs, Hendriks allowed four runs by giving up a pair of two-run home runs to
New York Yankees batters
Aaron Judge and
Giancarlo Stanton to give the Yankees an 8-7 lead. Fortunately for Hendriks, he was still able to get the win due to
Tim Anderson hitting a two-run, walk-off home run to give the White Sox a 9-8 win. Overall in 2021, Hendriks appeared in 69 games while recording an American League-leading 38 saves and having a record of 8-3. He also had an ERA of 2.54 in 71 innings and led all MLB relievers in strikeouts with 113. Hendriks won the
Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award for the second year in a row, becoming the second White Sox pitcher in history to win Reliever of the Year, joining
Bobby Thigpen. In 2022, Hendriks struggled to start the season. In the first game of the season against the Tigers with the White Sox up 4–3, Hendriks allowed a game-tying homerun to
Eric Haase with one out in the bottom of the ninth, giving him a blown save. Hendriks then gave up a walk-off RBI single with two outs to
Javier Baez, thus incurring the loss. Hendriks had an ERA of 5.40 in the month of April, but was able to turn it around as the season went on. But on 14 June, Hendriks would be placed on the IL with a right forearm strain. Hendriks came back on the Fourth of July and pitched his first game since 10 June on the same day against the Minnesota Twins, where he pitched in the eighth inning and struck out the side in 14 pitches. Hendriks made his third All-Star game appearance that season. He pitched a third of the eighth inning, inducing
Atlanta Braves catcher
Travis d'Arnaud to pop out to
Seattle Mariners rookie center fielder
Julio Rodríguez. Hendriks was also mic'd up by
Fox, who were broadcasting the game, and was yelling at Rodríguez to throw the ball back to him, even with Rodríguez pretending to throw the ball to a fan in the stands before throwing the ball back to Hendriks. Overall, Hendriks had a 4–4 record in 58 games with an ERA of 2.81 in 57.2 innings while striking out 85 batters and made 37 saves. Hendriks started the 2023 season on the Injured List while recovering from cancer treatment. He made his 2023 debut on 29 May 2023, in the eighth inning against the Angels and proceeded to give up two runs. Hendriks managed to make five game appearances before being added to the Injured List for elbow inflammation on 11 June. During that five game stint he compiled a 5.40 ERA, two wins, and one save. On 2 August, it was announced that Hendriks had undergone
Tommy John surgery and would miss the remainder of the season. He became a free agent after the season, when the White Sox declined their club option.
Boston Red Sox Prior to the 2024 season, Hendriks set a deadline of 15 February to sign with a team, otherwise he would remain a free agent and wait to sign until he was closer to recovering from surgery. this deadline ultimately came and went without Hendriks signing with a team. On 20 February 2024, the
Boston Red Sox, announced that they had signed Hendriks to a two-year, $10 million contract. He began the season on the 60-day injured list with the Red Sox. Hendriks began appearing in minor league games as part of his rehab in August. In September, Hendriks was named as the Red Sox' nominee for MLB's annual
Roberto Clemente Award. On 19 April 2025, the Red Sox activated Hendriks from the injured list, allowing him to make his return from injury. In 14 appearances for Boston upon returning, he struggled to an 0–2 record and 6.59 ERA with 12 strikeouts across innings pitched. On 30 May, Hendriks was placed on the injured list due to right hip inflammation; he was transferred to the 60-day injured list on 8 July. On 29 September, Hendriks underwent
ulnar nerve transposition surgery on his right elbow. On 4 November 2025, the Red Sox declined Hendriks' 2026 option and made him a free agent.
Minnesota Twins (second stint) On 11 February 2026, Hendriks signed a minor league contract with the
Minnesota Twins. The Twins released Hendriks on 20 March, after he failed to make the team's Opening Day roster. ==International career==