Liam Hendriks, a fit in Milwaukee?

Could Liam Hendriks be a spark plug for the Milwaukee Brewers? Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

If there’s one thing a baseball team can never have enough of, it would be pitching. Whether that pitching is starting or relieving doesn’t really matter, but what does matter is if the arm being used is capable of sustaining success.

For Liam Hendriks, he could find a way to turn around his young career with the Milwaukee Brewers.

One of the unusual things about Hendriks is that he is a baseball player who hails from Australia. Aside from Grant Balfour and Peter Moylan, the MLB lacks in many Australian players, which is surprising considering that baseball is somewhat popular in the land down under. That said, Hendriks is a 24-year-old starter that is currently looking for a team since the Minnesota Twins designated him for assignment not too long ago. Hendriks hasn’t had the most smooth of starts in the majors, but he has time to work out the kinks.

Just this past season, Hendriks pitched in 10 major league games, eight of which were starts. Unfortunately, Hendriks was blasted for 36 earned runs in 47.1 innings pitched (6.85 ERA) while hosting a K/9 of 6.5 and a BB/9 of 2.7. He certainly had his fair share of blunders this season, which is why for the majority of 2013 he spent pitching out of Triple-A Rochester. He was hit for a 4.67 ERA this season in Triple-A, but last year sported an ERA of just 2.20 in 16 starts (106.1 innings).

Maybe the thing with Hendriks is he just needs another half a year or so to iron out his issues and maybe a transition to the National League could help him. The Brewers’ farm league pitchers run sparse after awhile, so Hendriks would be far from the worst fit. Plus if the Brew Crew decide to stick the newly traded for Will Smith in the bullpen along with Tyler Thornburg, then Hendriks would have a shot as the fifth starter.

I try not to invest too much stock into his MLB career so far because the numbers he’s posted are far from pretty, but they can be worked with. The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks have shown interest in Hendriks, so what’s stopping the Brewers from doing the same? It couldn’t hurt to add another arm to the team.

Do you think the Brew Crew should go after Hendriks, or should they steer clear of him? Let us know in the comments!