Former Chicago Cubs pitcher and World Series champion Kyle Hendricks retired after a 12-year MLB career following his 2025 season with the Los Angeles Angels. He’ll always be remembered for his starts in the NLCS and World Series during the team’s 2016 World Series run, and while it seemed like a match made in heaven, Hendricks is back working in MLB, but it’s not with the Cubs.
Earlier this week, The Athletic reported that Hendricks agreed to become a special assistant in the Detroit Tigers front office. At first blush, that seems like a random destination. Hendricks pitched 11 seasons with the Cubs, one with the Angels, and he’s from Newport Beach, Calif. However, it’s all about who you know, right?
According to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, Hendricks was first approached by Scott Harris during a Cubs’ 10-year World Series reunion this past offseason. Harris, who is the current president of baseball operations for the Tigers, worked in the Cubs’ front office from 2012-19, before he was hired as the San Francisco Giants GM heading into the 2020 season.
Interestingly, as the assistant GM for the Cubs in 2019, Harris reportedly took a leading role in negotiating Hendricks’ four-year extension, which was completed before Opening Day that year. So the two men obviously have a relationship, and Harris isn’t the only familiar name to Hendricks in Detroit, either.
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Via The Athletic.
The source also cited Hendricks’ established connections to Detroit’s front office, which features several officials who worked for the Cubs during their 2016 championship season. That group includes Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, general manager Jeff Greenberg and vice president of baseball strategy Alex Smith.
Harris, in particular, talked with Hendricks about a potential role with the Tigers during a 10-year reunion for the 2016 World Series team, according to league sources, and the conversations continued after that January event in Chicago.
Hendricks, 36, made his MLB debut with the Cubs on July 10, 2014. While the right-handed pitcher was never recognized as an All-Star, Hendricks was the MLB leader in ERA during the 2016 season. Throughout his career, Hendricks posted a 3.12 ERA in 12 postseason games, including 11 starts, which all came with the Cubs.
According to Mooney, Hendricks and the Cubs are on good terms. It’s not like Jed Hoyer turned him down as Hendricks searched for a new challenge after retiring. Hendricks will reportedly focus on pitching development now that he’s working with the Tigers.
