Brian Hendry is thrilled to be back on the mound again.
The 26-year-old righthanded pitcher who was taken by the New York Yankees in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB Draft missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
But he has returned this season and, at three levels, he is a combined 1-0 with two holds, one save and a 3.00 earned-run average in 14 appearances.
“Coming off Tommy John to end the 2024 season, it was a long 2025 rehab,” Hendry said. “Coming into 2026, I had to make sure my body was in a good spot. I’m here now, feeling great, so I’m really excited to be competing again. It’s been a while.”
This was the second time Hendry underwent Tommy John surgery. The first came in his junior year at St. John’s University in 2022. He went 3-3 with a 6.18 ERA in 20 appearances for the Red Storm (2019-22) with 46 strikeouts in 58.0 innings. Then, he went to Oklahoma State University for his final year of eligibility in 2023 and was 2-1 with a 6.63 ERA in 16 games with 51 strikeouts in 36.2 innings.
After being drafted by the Yankees, Hendry spent his first professional season in 2024 with High-A Hudson Valley. He started seven games for the Renegades and was 1-0 with a 0.48 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 18.2 innings.
However, he started to have arm issues again.
“We tried to go the rehab route early on; you don’t want to have to get a second surgery unless it’s deemed necessary,” Hendry said. “So we tried to rehab it and it would have days it was working, days it was not. I did get back to game action from that rehab, which was great. But I got maybe three or four starts in and that same pain came back. Got even worse than it was prior. Imaging revealed it was something we had to do something about at that point.”
Having to undergo a second Tommy John surgery was frustrating. Hendry said he felt sorry for himself for about a week, then accepted it.
Talk to players who go through that rehab process and they say it is very long, difficult and lonely.
“It comes in waves,” Hendry said. “Up until I started throwing, which was about 26 weeks, it’s really slow. Doing the progression of everything I have to do physical therapy-wise and getting my body moving again. What I love doing is throwing and when I can’t do that, it’s tough. After that 26th week, there was a bit of light at the end of the tunnel that I started seeing. That helps continue to press forward. But it’s long. There’s no easy way to put it. You’ve just got to take it day by day. When you start looking a year down the road, it’s too far out. You really just have to be where your feet are at and try to get better that day, knowing in the long run it’s going to add up to something you want.”
As he came back this season, Hendry said he was a little more conservative this time than he was after his first surgery.
“Making sure I took the right steps and coming back healthy,” he said. “I took it a little slower but in a way to make sure I’m coming back good.”
On June 11, he began his rehab assignment, pitching a combined nine games with the Florida Complex League Yankees and Single-A Tampa Tarpons. Then, he was assigned to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on July 21. That came as a pleasant surprise.
“I wasn’t looking out in advance planning where I was going to be,” Hendry said. “I just tried to attack each day at whatever level I was at, whatever team I was facing. Put my best foot forward. I obviously was ecstatic when I came up here, but I wasn’t really planning out too far in advance where I was going to be. I was just trying to attack the guys in front of me and make sure I was in a good spot.”
He has made five relief appearances with the RailRiders and has no record and one hold. He has allowed five runs and six hits with three walks and six strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
Besides working on his pitches, Hendry also is working on his endurance so he can build up his arm and his body to pitch on consecutive days.
“I was a starter in the past, so going to a relief role now, there’s adjustments my body has to make compared to having a five-day or six-day routine,” Hendry said. “That’s the biggest thing I’m working on really: the bounce-back of my arm to be able to throw back-to-back days eventually. I’m working on different pitches as well, see what fits my arsenal. The fastball, the slider, the changeup, those are kind of staples. I had a curveball in the past, I’m toying with that, trying to get that to where that used to be. Toying maybe with a cutter, a sinker. As hitters give me information, I’ll make those adjustments.”
Growing up in Medford, New Jersey, about 25 miles from Philadelphia, Hendry was a big Phillies fan.
“It’s like South Jersey people are Philly-represent and North Jersey people are New York-represent,” he said. “I’ve always had an admiration for New York sports. It’s a big market, a great fan base. But where I’m at, it’s Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, Philadelphia Union, the whole lot.”
He was 10 years old when the Yankees beat the Phillies in six games in the 2009 World Series.
“I do remember 2009 pretty well. I would have been rooting for the Phillies,” Hendry said. “I think both franchises are awesome. The Yankees, I’m very happy to be with them.”
Read the full article here