White Sox closer Liam Hendriks says he's 'cancer free'

Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks on Thursday posted to social media that he is cancer free after completing chemotherapy treatments for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

"REMISSION," Hendriks posted to Instagram along with pictures and video of him from throughout his cancer fight. "It's official. I'm cancer free."

Hendriks, 34,finished his final round of chemotherapy on April 5, positing a video of him rining the "victory bell."

Hendriks announced the diagnosis in January.There is no official timeline for his return, although the team elected not to move him to the 60-day injured list last month.

"We've all prayed and prayed and prayed for his recovery," White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said before Friday's game at the Rays. "What lifts my spirit is the fact he's cancer-free. It has nothing to do with baseball. That was the most important thing for me, for us, for this organization, for every single fan. We're all here, opened arms, waiting for him to get here whenever he's ready.

"He's a bulldog. There's a plan in place. This will be the start of his spring training. Through this process, he's kept throwing. I've actually seen, probably, four or five of those sessions in spring training. His velocity maybe wasn't exactly where he wanted it, but his effort, his arm, the way of work, just his competitiveness, all that was there."

A three-time All-Star, Hendriks was third in the majors with 37 saves last season. He led the American League with a career-high 38 saves in 2021 after leaving the Oakland Athletics to sign a three-year, $54 million contract with the White Sox.

Hendriks has 115 saves and a 3.81 ERA over 12 seasons with Minnesota, Toronto, Kansas City, Oakland and Chicago.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.