Hendriks threw a scoreless inning in Tuesday's Grapefruit loss to Philadelphia with two strikeouts. He reached 93.6 mph with his fastball. "You can't take away the been there, done that," manager Derek Shelton told Jayson Stark of The Athletic. "There are guys who can't do it. And he's done it at a really high level."

EDGE Analysis

Shelton last week said he has no idea who his closer will be, so it's somewhat notable he's praised Hendriks. The veteran reliever has looked healthy this spring but his velocity is down from a 94.9-mph average fastball in 2025 and 95.4 mph in 2023. Still, given the weak competition in Minnesota's bullpen, he could make the Opening Day roster and figure into the save mix. Hendriks has a 3.00 ERA with a 4:3 K:BB in six innings this spring.